PRIME MINISTER

Kyoto Protocol

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Prime Minister when he will next meet the President of the United States of America to discuss the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol on climate change; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: I have regular discussions with President Bush on a wide range of international issues. I expect to see him next on 28 May in Rome for the NATO/Russia Summit and on 25–27 June in Kananaskis for the G8 Summit.
	We welcome the US's recognition that climate change is a serious problem and the fact that they are taking domestic action. The UK continues to believe that the Kyoto Protocol remains the only workable basis to take forward international action to tackle climate change. We are maintaining a constructive dialogue with US ministers and officials.

Illegal Timber Trade

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Prime Minister what measures the United Kingdom will be proposing to tackle the illegal timber trade at the G8 Heads of State meeting in Vancouver, Canada.

Tony Blair: The UK led the G8 work on illegal logging in the 1998 action plan, and has taken many actions to support measures by timber producing countries to control illegal logging. The G8 report on the action programme on forests will be published in the run-up to the G8 meeting in Canada. We want to concentrate on implementation of the programme.

Euro

Ian Davidson: To ask the Prime Minister if it is his policy to introduce legislation to allow a referendum on whether Britain should join the euro to Parliament before the five economic tests are assessed as having been met.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave the right hon. Members for Ross, Skye and Inverness West (Mr. Kennedy) and for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr. Duncan Smith) in the House on Wednesday 22 May, Official Report, columns 286–7 and 289–90.

European Commission

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Prime Minister what discussions (a) his Office and (b) the Government have held with the European Commission on the appointment of the next head of the Commission Representation in the United Kingdom; when that post will become vacant; if the role of the Commission in a single currency referendum has been discussed, with particular reference to influencing public opinion; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: The Government has kept in close contact with the Commission as the recruitment procedure moves forward, while, naturally, respecting the Commission's independence in this process.
	The Commission has Representations in all Member States. Their role is to represent the Commission to the media, report to the Commission on political, economic and social development in the host state, and disseminate information about the EU through recognised outlets.
	The Government's position on the Single Currency remains a matter for the Government.
	The position was advertised as the subject of an open competition on 17 July 2001. An exact date for appointment of the new incumbent will depend on his or her individual circumstances.

European Commission

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Prime Minister when he was first informed of the (a) candidates and (b) short list for the replacement for the head of the Commission delegation to the UK.

Tony Blair: The Commission has kept the Government informed at all stages about the procedure for the selection of the next Head of the European Commission Representation to the UK.
	The shortlist for the open competition for the position was published in the Official Journal of the European Communities on 21 March of this year.

Scottish Executive

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  how many representations the Scottish Executive has made to his office since May 1999 broken down by (a) Scottish Executive department, (b) subject and (c) date the representation was made;
	(2)  how many times his Office has made representations to the Scottish Executive since May 1999 broken down by (a) the Scottish Executive department approached, (b) subject of the representation and (c) date the representation was made.

Tony Blair: Information is not available in the form requested. Both formal and informal contacts take place regularly between Government departments, including the Scotland Office, and departments of the Scottish Executive. My Office and the Scottish Executive are in contact from time to time. In addition, I have meetings with the First Minister on a regular basis, both bilaterally and through the Joint Ministerial Committee, to discuss matters of mutual interest.

Reserved Powers

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Prime Minister, what plans he has to transfer the administration of reserved powers or functions of UK government departments, their executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies within their remit from those departments to the Scotland Office. (59504)
	 Question number missing in Hansard, possibly truncated question.

Tony Blair: None.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Timber

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what areas were identified under the G8 programme of action on forests where the United Kingdom needed to improve its performance to combat the trade in illegally harvested timber;
	(2)  what action the United Kingdom (a) has taken and (b) intends to take to follow up the G8 action programme on forests, agreed at the Birmingham G8 meeting in 1998;
	(3)  what work has been taken, under the G8 action programme of action on forests by the United Kingdom to develop and implement counter measures against the trade in illegally harvested timber.

Clare Short: The UK led the G8 work on illegal logging in the 1998 action plan. The G8 report on the action programme on forests will be published in the run-up to the G8 meeting in Canada. It identifies the actions that have been taken by G8 members to combat illegal logging and associated trade. The UK has taken many actions to support measures by timber producing countries to control illegal logging. These include access to better information and analysis, establishment of monitoring and verification processes and policy and institutional reforms.
	Internationally we have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Indonesia that commits both parties to work together to combat illegal logging and stop the trade in illegally logged timber between our countries. This important bilateral agreement for joint action by producer and consumer countries is the first of its kind. It is highly influential and is acting as a catalyst for the development of further agreements.
	In addition to our work within the G8 action programme we are working within the EU and with international organisations to broaden the base of countries engaged in actions to control illegal logging. The EU is developing an action programme that is examining the need for new legislation to provide effective enforcement. The UK, with others, is supporting a forest law enforcement process in Africa that will learn from the successful process started in Asia last year. We need to demonstrate progress with bilateral agreements and build these into regional and multilateral arrangements.
	Domestically the Government now requires all Departments to seek to procure only legally and sustainably harvested timber and wood products.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Chemical Weapons

Helen Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons will be governed until a replacement for Jose Bustani is appointed.

Ben Bradshaw: The Executive Council, which is the Executive organ of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, will continue to function as normal. Its next meeting is on 31 May. The Director-General heads the Technical Secretariat that is responsible for assisting the Executive Council in the performance of its function. Until a new Director-General is appointed, the Technical Secretariat will be headed by the Deputy Director-General.

Chemical Weapons

Helen Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects a new Director General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to be appointed.

Ben Bradshaw: The Special Conference of States Parties (The Hague, 21–24 April) decided that it would reconvene no later than 10 June to appoint a new Director-General, following the formal recommendation of the Executive Council which is due to meet on 31 May.

Chemical Weapons

Helen Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the countries that are members of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

Ben Bradshaw: There are currently 145 State Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). All States Parties to the CWC are members of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). They are as follows: Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Fiji, Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guinea, Guyana, Holy See, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia (Federated States of), Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Saint Lucia, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United Republic of Tanzania, United States of America, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Chemical Weapons

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  how many chemical weapons inspectors have been employed by the OPCW in each year since its creation; and what the projected numbers are for 2003;
	(2)  if he will list the staff at directorate and branch head level in the OPCW, together with the nationality of the (a) current and (b) immediate past incumbent.

Ben Bradshaw: We do not hold this information. We will make enquiries and I will write to my hon. Friend, and place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.

Chemical Weapons

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Blaneau Gwent (Llew Smith), of 8 May, Official Report, column 241W, on the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, if he will make a statement on the reasons underlying his assessement that Mr. Bustani has lost confidence of a significant number of the OPCW's Executive Council.

Ben Bradshaw: The assessment was based on the views expressed by members of the OPCW represented on the Executive Council. It was borne out by the subsequent vote in which 17 supported the vote of no confidence, 18 abstained and only 5 opposed.

Chemical Weapons

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his definition is of major shareholder in the context of member states of the OPCW; and what the implications are of the definition for the independence of the organisations.

Ben Bradshaw: There is no agreed definition of a major shareholder in the context of the OPCW. The use of this term has no implications for the independence of the Organisation, where each member has one vote. This term has, however, occasionally been used to describe those members who have continually been represented on the Executive Council, and the six largest financial contributors who provide approximately 70 per cent of the OPCW budget (the US, Japan, Germany, France, the UK and Italy).

Burma

Iain Luke: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance has been offered to British companies who retain an economic presence in Burma in the last 12 months.

Ben Bradshaw: HMG does not encourage trade, investment or tourism with Burma. Companies asking for advice are informed about the political and human rights situation in Burma and told we will not provide any assistance.

Burma

Iain Luke: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions his Department has had with the military Government of Burma.

Ben Bradshaw: The UK maintains formal diplomatic links with Burma. Contact with the military regime in Burma is limited by the EU Common Position which contains a visa ban on senior members of the regime visiting the EU and a ban on High Level visitors from the EU travelling to Burma. There has however been contact at official level, most recently in late February/early March.
	An EU Troika mission also visited Burma in March 2002 for discussions with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, representatives of the ethnic minority groups and also members of the regime.

Burma

Iain Luke: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent meetings his Department has had with (a) the NLD and (b) Aung San Sun Kyi as to how the British Government may aid them in bringing about democratic Government, equality before the law and enhanced human rights in Burma.

Ben Bradshaw: Our Embassy staff in Burma and visiting FCO officials meet regularly with representatives of the National League for Democracy. Our Ambassador has also met Aung San Suu Kyi since her release from house arrest.
	The EU Common Position on Burma includes an arms embargo, a ban on non-humanitarian aid, a ban on items that may be used for torture, a ban on high level visits and a visa ban and asset freeze on senior members of the regime. In addition the European Community suspended Burma's trading privileges in 1997 in response to concerns over the use of forced labour and the Government does not encourage trade, investment or tourism with Burma.
	Together with other EU partners, the Government takes every opportunity to encourage the military government, the democratic opposition and the ethnic minorities to press ahead with national reconciliation, with the aim of re-establishing democracy and the rule of law.

Chinese Christians

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made about the case of the imprisonment of Chinese Christians who were imprisoned for bible transportation.

Denis MacShane: We have been following closely the cases of three Chinese Christians imprisoned for bible transportation earlier this year. We welcome the fact that two of them have been released on health grounds. At the latest round of the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in Beijing on 15 May we raised our concerns about the protection of religious freedom in China.

Chinese Christians

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the level of persecution of Christians in China and if he will make representations to the Chinese authorities about the persecution of Christians in China.

Denis MacShane: We are deeply concerned about the treatment of Christians in China and raise religious freedom regularly with the Chinese. We raised the treatment of Christians most recently at the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in Beijing on 15 May.

Counter-Terrorism

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the member state submissions on their national counter-terrorism programmes made to the United Nations Security Council, pursuant to SC resolution 1373 (2001).

Denis MacShane: Most of the UN's member states have submitted reports on their compliance with UNSCR 1373 (2001) to the UN Security Council's Counter Terrorism Committee (CTC), which is chaired by the UK's permanent representative to the United Nations in New York. The CTC is analysing these reports collectively, with the help of independent expert advisers. At this stage, the CTC is seeking further information from all states that have submitted such reports.

EU Applicant Countries

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list EU funds available for information campaigns in applicant countries; what the United Kingdom's share is; what measures exist to ensure impartiality; if he will list organisations which are recipients; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Hain: In the Candidate Countries for accession to the European Union, information activities are carried out by the European Commission's Delegations.
	The following table shows the EC funding in euros for each delegation in 2001.
	
		
			 Country Budget 2001— C= 
		
		
			 Bratislava 650,000 
			 Bucharest 850,000 
			 Budapest 1,000,000 
			 Ljublijana 720,000 
			 Prague 900,000 
			 Riga 670,000 
			 Sofia 550,000 
			 Tallinn 611,375 
			 Vilnius 680,000 
			 Warsaw 1,559,000 
			 Turkey 600,000 
			 Cyprus 200,000 
			 Malta 200,000 
		
	
	In accordance with normal budgetary principles, the own resources contributions of the Member States are not allocated to specific expenditure lines.
	The overall strategy for the information initiatives has been endorsed by the Council and implementation on the ground takes place in full consultation with the national Government concerned as well as with the embassies of the Member States in the relevant capital.

Vancouver Summit

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs who will make up the delegation representing the United Kingdom Government at the G8 Heads of State meeting in Vancouver, Canada.

Peter Hain: The G8 Summit of Heads of Government will be held on 26–27 June in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada. The UK delegation will be led by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and include Baroness Amos, his Personal Representative on Africa. Around 25 officials from No. 10, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and HM Treasury will join them as necessary.

Afghanistan

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Afghan prisoners in Shebarghan prison are being held under the Geneva Convention.

Ben Bradshaw: It has not yet been possible to verify whether or not the prisoners in Shebarghan prison are being held in accordance with the Geneva Convention. However, we remain concerned about the reported conditions in which prisoners are being held in certain parts of Afghanistan.
	Security considerations have so far prevented our Embassy staff in Kabul from visiting these prisons. But they are in frequent contact with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which closely monitors the situation and welfare of all prisoners in Afghanistan.
	We have made clear to the Afghan Interim Administration that we expect them to respect their international obligations, including treating their prisoners in accordance with the Geneva Conventions.

Afghanistan

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on Afghan prisoners held at Shebarghan being sold back to their families.

Ben Bradshaw: We are concerned about reports that some prisoners previously held in Sheberghan have been ransomed.
	Security considerations have so far prevented our Embassy staff in Kabul from visiting these prisons. But they are in frequent contact with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which closely monitors the situation and welfare of all prisoners in Afghanistan.
	Throughout the conflict last autumn, we urged the Northern Alliance to respect the tenets of the Geneva Conventions and to treat humanely all those who surrendered and were taken prisoner. Since then, we have made clear to the Afghan Interim Administration that we expect them to respect their international obligations, including to treat their prisoners humanely.

Military Exports

James Cran: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when a substantive reply will be given to Eric and Kathleen Rodham's letter of 5 February, concerning an embargo on military exports to India, Pakistan and Israel, acknowledged on 11 February.

Ben Bradshaw: I sent a response on 9 May. I apologise for the delay in responding.

Indonesia

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he and his Department have had with the Indonesian Government on the enforcement of the Malino II agreement in the Moluccas Islands.

Ben Bradshaw: We welcome the agreement brokered by the Indonesian Government between the warring factions in Maluku to end the fighting. However, this is only the first small step to reconcile the warring communities and start the process of reconstruction and repatriation.
	The UK's message to the Indonesian government is clear and consistent: a long-term solution to regional conflicts can be achieved only through political negotiation and consultation with the people. Together with our European partners we are in regular, top-level dialogue with the Indonesian government, and urge them to maintain law and order and promote reconciliation in areas of conflict. The UK together with the EU issued a declaration welcoming the Malino peace agreement on 11 March. The declaration called on the Indonesian Government to take the necessary measures to enforce the Malino agreement.

International Organisations

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to promote the principle that activities of international organisations should be in the interest of all member states, with equal weight given to each vote.

Denis MacShane: Within international organisations, HMG seeks to build consensus but when votes are necessary in an organisation, HMG abides by the rules governing voting within that organisation. When these rules are drawn up or amended, government policy is to promote an equitable system of voting.

DEFENCE

Medical Treatment

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence by what criteria armed forces personnel have been selected for medical treatment in the private sector; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 7 May 2002
	In broad terms the criteria used for referral to private healthcare providers under recent and current schemes relates to the likelihood of individuals returning rapidly to full fitness and to the operational priority of their particular role or trade, although the details vary between the different arrangements.

Strategic Sealift Service

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  pursuant to his answer of 24 April, Official Report, column 259W, whether the reimbursement by AWSR Ltd. for Government purchase of two ro-ro vessels built by Harland & Wolff will include interest;
	(2)  whether guarantees have been given by his Department in respect of the ro-ro vessels being built at Flensburg for AWSR Ltd. as part of the Strategic Sealift Service.

Adam Ingram: AWSR Shipping Ltd.'s reimbursement of the purchase price of the two Harland and Wolff built vessels will not include interest as the overall PFI arrangement will take the funding of the ships into account. At the time the four shipbuilding contracts were placed with Flensburger of Germany, the department accepted that it would assume responsibility for them in the event of a PFI contract failing to come to fruition.

Strategic Sealift Service

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 24 April, Official Report, column 259W, what date was estimated by his Department for signature of the contract for the provision of the Strategic Sealift Service when AWSR Ltd. was announced as preferred bidder on 26 October 2000.

Adam Ingram: In October 2000 the Ministry of Defence estimated that contract negotiations could be concluded by the spring of 2001.

Strategic Sealift Service

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, 
	(1)  pursuant to his answer of 24 April, Official Report, column 259W, which (a) Government departments and (b) regional and industrial bodies with an interest in the Strategic Sealift Service competition were consulted formally by his Department; on what dates; and on what dates responses to this consultation exercise were received;
	(2)  pursuant to his answer of 24 April, Official Report, column 259W, what discussion took place with Ministers outside his Department regarding the Strategic Sealift Service prior to 26 October 2000;
	(3)  pursuant to his answer of 30 April, Official Report, column 742W, on what dates after 26 October 2000 (a) he, (b) his Ministers and (c) his officials met (i) AWSR Ltd., (ii) NUMAST and (iii) RMT to discuss the Strategic Sealift Service; and what matters were discussed.

Adam Ingram: Ministers have not met with AWSR Shipping Ltd to discuss the strategic sealift service. MOD officials have met them frequently as part of the contract negotiations. My hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence met with representatives of the Seafarers' Unions at their request on 19 July 2001, specifically to discuss matters related to crewing of the strategic sealift service. MOD officials have met with those unions on a number of occasions. Consultation with Government Departments and regional and industrial bodies with an interest in the strategic sealift service competition was not on a formal basis and Ministerial discussions prior to 26 October 2000 were ad hoc. Details could only be gathered at disproportionate cost.

Strategic Sealift Service

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, 
	(1)  pursuant to his answer of 30 April, Official Report, column 742W, whether the price quoted by AWSR Ltd. for provision of the Strategic Sealift Service and accepted by him in selecting AWSR as preferred bidder for the contract was based upon using sponsored reserve crews on the six ships when they were in Ministry of Defence use, with British officers and multinational crews when the ships were on commercial work;
	(2)  pursuant to his answer of 30 April, Official Report, column 742W, what the preferred crewing arrangements were of the three unsuccessful shortlisted bidders for the Strategic Sealift Service;
	(3)  pursuant to his answer of 30 April, Official Report, column 742W, when the decision to use British crews at all times on all six vessels provided by AWSR Ltd. was announced;
	(4)  pursuant to his answer of 30 April, Official Report, column 742W, by what percentage the costs of the Strategic Sealift Service will change as a result of the use of British crews on all six vessels at all times.

Adam Ingram: AWSR's initial price reflected the arrangements described in my earlier answer. ASWR have not formally announced their intention to man the ships with British crews at all times but they made their negotiated position clear to the Trade Unions by 13 September 2001. The crewing arrangements underlying the unsuccessful bids are a matter for the companies concerned. Details of AWSR's bid costs are commercially sensitive and I am withholding the requested information under Exemption 13 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Strategic Sealift Service

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  pursuant to his answer of 30 April, Official Report, column 742W, what the cost will be to the Exchequer of the introduction of a tonnage tax regime by AWSR Ltd. in the provision of six vessels for the Strategic Sealift Service;
	(2)  pursuant to his answer of 30 April, Official Report, column 742W, when (a) the Goverment's White Paper, "British Shipping: Charting a New Course" was published and (b) the revised and confirmed best and final offer by AWSR Ltd. for provision of the Strategic Sealift Service was submitted;
	(3)  pursuant to his answer of 30 April, Official Report, column 742W, what commitments to the training and recruitment of new officers and ratings have been given by AWSR Ltd. under the negotiations for the Strategic Sealift Service;
	(4)  pursuant to his answer of 30 April, Official Report, column 742W, which companies in membership of the consortium selected as preferred bidder for the Strategic Sealift Service (a) participated in the Government's shipping working party and (b) have registered vessels under the tonnage tax.

Adam Ingram: The Government White Paper "British Shipping Charting a New Course" was published on 16 December 1998. The associated fiscal support was announced in the Finance Act 2000 and made available from 28 July 2000. Along with all the other bidders in the competition, AWSR Shipping Ltd made their final bid on 6 July 2000. The strategic sealift service proposed by AWSR Shipping Ltd. will create 184 new jobs, all of which will be filled by officers and ratings eligible to be Sponsored Reserves and recruited on the open market. AWSR Shipping Ltd. has assured the Ministry of Defence that it is committed to a level of training that meets the government's British Shipping Policy. Details of AWSR's bid are commercially sensitive and I am therefore withholding details of the costs associated with their tonnage tax position under Exemption 13 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. Of the companies making up the AWSR consortium, only James Fisher & Sons plc took part in the Government's shipping working party and only this company has ships registered under tonnage tax.

Strategic Sealift Service

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what alternatives to the Harland and Wolff Ro-Ro contract were considered; what assessment was made of the alternatives; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: Bidders in the strategic sealift competition proposed various means of meeting the Ministry of Defence's requirement. All bids were assessed comparatively in terms of value for money having regard to price, delivery and quality. AWSR Shipping Ltd's bid, which provided for early introduction of the RoRo service through ship construction divided between Harland and Wolff and Flensburger, won on merit. Once the process of evaluation had been completed and the selection made, alternatives to Harland and Wolff were not a consideration.

Eurofighter

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the delays in the delivery of the first Eurofighter and on the cost of these delays.

Lewis Moonie: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 23 May 2002, Official Report, column 477W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Vale of Glamorgan (Mr. Smith).

Sea Harrier Decommissioning

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if Flight Lieutenant Holland's and Lieutenant Hamblin's letter in The Times on 13 May was approved by their commanding officers.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 16 May 2002
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 16 May, Official Report, column 777W, to the hon. Member for Mid Sussex (Mr. Soames).

QinetiQ

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if he will list land in the ownership of QinetiQ; and what development proposals are under consideration for each such piece of land;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on his proposals for the development of Throckmorton airfield.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 5 February 2002, Official Report, column 856W, regarding the ownership of the Throckmorton airfield site (known as Pershore), and the answers I gave to the hon. Member for North Essex (Mr. Jenkin) on 13 March 2002, Official Report, columns 1162W–1164W, where I listed all the freehold and leasehold sites transferred to QinetiQ plc as part of the DERA PPP process, and commented on their development in the future.

Military Support Vehicle

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future military support vehicle contract.

Adam Ingram: Bids for the future military vehicle contract are expected from industry by the 25 June 2002.

Military Support Vehicle

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many companies were invited to tender for the military support vehicle contract plan to manufacture the vehicle in the United Kingdom.

Adam Ingram: We expect to receive bids by the 25 June 2002. We are therefore not aware of the companies manufacturing plans at this stage.

Military Support Vehicle

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many companies have been asked to tender for the military support vehicle contract.

Adam Ingram: Five companies have been invited to tender for the military support vehicle contract.

Military Support Vehicle

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the employment opportunities in the United Kingdom created by the contract for military support vehicles.

Adam Ingram: No assessment has yet been made of the employment opportunities in the United Kingdom created by the contract for Military Support Vehicles. Companies tendering for the contract have been asked to include proposals for UK Industrial Participation in their bids. The bids are expected by the 25 June 2002.

Military Support Vehicle

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what financial checks will be made on each of the companies bidding for the contract for military support vehicles by his Department before a decision is taken.

Adam Ingram: Following expressions of interest in this procurement prior to the issue of invitations to tender, a financial check of each potential bidder was undertaken. A further assessment will be made upon receipt of bids.

Dysentry

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many soliders have been affected by dysentry in the last 12 months; if it is clear what caused it; how many soldiers have been put into quarantine in Afghanistan; if the source of any poisoning has been found; and whether other coalition forces have been affected.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 20 May 2002
	According to available records, over the 12 months period up to 30 April 2002, there were six cases of dysentery amongst Army personnel. Two were cases of amoebic dysentery which is caused by a parasitic infection, and four were cases of Shigella Sonnei dysentery caused by a bacterial infection.
	Twenty-eight Service personnel in Afghanistan are being or have been treated by 34 Field Hospital for Winter Vomiting Disease. Winter Vomiting Disease is caused by an organism called small round structured virus (SRSV) which is the most common cause of gut infection in this country. Some 340 Service personnel in Afghanistan were placed in isolation while the nature of the illness was being investigated. Following confirmation of the underlying cause and measures put in place to control the outbreak, the quarantine of 34 Field Hospital and the Camp in which it is located has now been lifted. We are not aware of any coalition forces who are similarly affected.
	In addition, other personnel deployed in Afghanistan have suffered at various times from diarrhoea. This is not uncommon in this type of theatre.

Afghanistan

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of Parachute Regiment personnel deployed in Afghanistan were Territorial Army; and what was the overall personnel shortfall.

Adam Ingram: A contingent from the 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment was deployed to Afghanistan between 1 January and 10 April 2002. The size of the contingent was dictated by the assessment of the mission at the time. There was no personnel shortfall and therefore no need to augment the contingent from elsewhere in the Regular Army or the Territorial Army (TA). Two members of the TA from the Parachute Regiment have been mobilised for service in Afghanistan, and they have served in the brigade headquarters.

Afghanistan

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of the total costs of UK operations in Afghanistan will come from the Ministry of Defence budget; and if he will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: All the additional costs incurred on Operations in Afghanistan identified in 2001–02 were funded from the Conflict Prevention Pool budget and the Treasury Reserve as detailed in the Spring Supplementary Estimates 2001–02.

Afghanistan

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what actions British forces in Afghanistan are undertaking to destroy heroin stockpiles.

Adam Ingram: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 12 March 2002, Official Report, column 870W. The task force formed around 45 Commando is concentrating on operations against remnants of the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

Afghanistan

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on British military involvement in Afghanistan.

Geoff Hoon: British troops in Afghanistan have been carrying out both security assistance and combat tasks; this dual role has not caused any significant problems. The United Kingdom has led, and made a substantial contribution to, the International Security Assistance Force in Kabul since its inception. Our troops have been widely praised for their work in helping the Interim Administration to maintain security and stability in Kabul as the Afghans begin the rebuilding of their shattered country. The number of British troops committed to ISAF in Kabul is now under 1,400, compared with 2,100 at its peak. We welcomed Turkey's announcement on 29 April that it would take over the leadership from the UK, and are finalising the arrangements.
	The deployment to Afghanistan of a battlegroup of up to 1,700 troops formed around 45 Commando Royal Marines has also produced significant results. The Royal Marines have so far completed three operations. All three have contributed towards denying the terrorists the opportunity to regroup, operate, and destabilise the peace process in Afghanistan. This is vital if Afghan society is to return to normality.

Afghanistan

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what was (a) the start date, (b) the conclusion date and (c) the cost of (i) Operation Ptarmigan, (ii) Operation Snipe and (iii) Operation Condor; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what the average cost is (a) per month, (b) per day and (c) in total of United Kingdom contributions to ISAF; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what the average cost is (a) per month, (b) per day and (c) in total of Royal Marine operations in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: Operation PTARMIGAN began on 15 April and concluded on 18 April. Operation SNIPE began on 1 May and concluded on 13 May. Operation CONDOR commenced on 17 May and concluded on 22 May. The costs of these Operations cannot be separated from the overall cost of Operation JACANA.
	The costs of the United Kingdom contributions to ISAF and the Royal Marines operations in Afghanistan are not incurred on a daily basis and to make such a calculation would be artificial and misleading. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as an estimate has been produced and actual monthly costs are available, and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Air Transport

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if there are annual flying mile restraints on the leased C17s.

Adam Ingram: Under the terms of the lease contract for the four C17 aircraft, there are no restrictions on the number of miles or hours that may be flown.

Air Transport

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many C130J aircraft are on order; how many are operational; and when they will all be in service.

Adam Ingram: A total of 25 C130J aircraft have been delivered to the Ministry of Defence and no further aircraft are on order. Twenty-three are in-service with the RAF and the remaining two are on loan to QinetiQ.

Air Transport

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how far lack of availability of C17 aircraft has increased dependency on C130 Mk1 and C130 Mk3; what effect this has had on forces' training that would normally involve C130 Mk1 and C130 Mk3; and what resulting cancellations there have been in training in the last two years.

Adam Ingram: At no point during its service to date has unavailability of the C17 contributed to an increased dependency on the operation of Hercules C130K aircraft. The high flying rate of the C17 has, in part, been as a result of attempts to relieve the workload on other aircraft, including the Hercules C130. Increased utilisation of the C130 is attributable only to the upsurge in Operational flying and would have been exacerbated had the C17 aircraft not been available.

Air Transport

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what restrictions there are on the use of the leased C17s; and if these differ from restrictions imposed on the USAF in their lease of the C17.

Adam Ingram: There are no contract restrictions on our use of the leased C17 aircraft. The C17 aircraft operated by the USAF were purchased, not leased, from Boeing.

Air Transport

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the current operational status and serviceability of the RAF's four leased C17A Globemaster III transport aircraft.

Adam Ingram: There are four C17 aircraft in operational service with the RAF, which provide an outsize strategic airlift capability and supplement the existing air transport capability. On 22 May 2002, three of the four aircraft were fully serviceable and conducting operations. One aircraft was undergoing routine pre-planned maintenance. Since the arrival of the C17 into RAF service, it has consistently performed above expectations, while its serviceability record has been comparable with that of the Hercules fleet.

Air Transport

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many C17 transport aircraft are (a) fully serviceable and (b) unserviceable; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: On 22 May, three C17 aircraft were fully serviceable and one C17 aircraft was undergoing pre-planned routine maintenance.

Temporary Staff

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many employees under contract from temping agencies were working in his Department; and how much will be spent on temporary staff (a) in total and (b) as a percentage of the total staffing budget in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 22 May 2002
	This information is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. Temporary staff are generally used as an interim measure to fill posts that cannot be filled conventionally in the required timescale or to cover short term peaks in workload.

Service Housing

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many houses the armed forces have in (a) the UK and (b) Scotland.

Adam Ingram: At 1 May 2002 the Defence Housing Executive managed some 52,100 homes for Service families in mainland UK. Of these some 3,400 properties are in Scotland. An additional 3,200 properties in Northern Ireland are managed by the staff of the General Officer Commanding, Northern Ireland.

Medical Services

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on access to medical services within the armed forces.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 22 May 2002
	On operational deployments medical support to the Armed Forces is provided by the Defence Medical Services, or in some circumstances through joint arrangements with allies and partners, particularly on sustained operations where this represents a sensible use of medical resources. Healthcare for personnel who are not deployed is normally provided by Service and civilian Ministry of Defence personnel and through the NHS, although some limited use is made of the private sector to meet particular needs. In Germany, healthcare is provided under arrangements that also involve the Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen's Families Association and five German hospitals.

RAF Stations (Commercial Use)

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what criteria are applied to the commercial use by private firms of RAF stations.

Adam Ingram: Under the Government's Wider Markets Initiative, the RAF seeks to maximise use of irreducible spare capacity. Sustained commercial activity on an RAF station is usually exposed to full and open competition. Short-term use of the Ministry of Defence assets, including its estate, is subject to an appropriate licence, lease or contract. In all circumstances, military operations would retain primacy.

RAF Stations (Commercial Use)

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent approaches have been made by private airlines to develop commercial civilian services from (a) RAF Kinross and (b) RAF Lossiemouth.

Adam Ingram: No formal proposals have been put forward by airline companies for the development of commercial civilian services from RAF Kinloss and RAF Lossiemouth.

TRANSPORT, LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND THE REGIONS

Rail Franchises

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will state, for each train operating company, (a) when the franchise was first renewed, (b) the length of the original franchise awarded, (c) the dates on which the franchise has since been awarded, (d) when the franchise is next due to be awarded, (e) the changes in the ownership which have taken place since the franchise was first awarded and (f) changes in the franchise since December 2001.

David Jamieson: The information requested has been placed in the Library of the House and most of it is also available on the SRA's website as SRA.gov.uk except for details of changes to franchise agreements since December 2001 which are held on the Strategic Rail Authority's Public Register, available for inspection at their offices or for purchase.

Voting Arrangements

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what recent assessment has been made of the success of (a) the postal vote and (b) other experimental voting systems; and what assessment has been made of extending the postal vote to general elections.

Alan Whitehead: The Electoral Commission began its evaluation on 3 May of the electoral pilot schemes which took place in the recent local elections, and will provide a detailed assessment of the impact of new voting methods to the Secretary of State by 2 August 2002. Early indications are that all-postal ballots can increase turnout and the various electronic means of voting were positively received. We will wish to consider the Commission's evaluations carefully before making decisions on the future use of postal voting in elections.

Vandalism (Railways)

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many cases of vandalism of railway tracks were reported in each of the past five years; what the average annual cost of repairing vandalism to the rail network has been in the last five years; and what initiatives are being pursued to prevent vandalism of the rail network.

David Jamieson: Information held by the British Transport Police on reported vandalism offences in each of the last five years is contained in the following table:
	
		
			 Year  
		
		
			 1997–1998 13,751 
			 1998–1999 12,855 
			 1999–2000 13,743 
			 2000–2001 13,349 
			 2001–2002 15,075 
		
	
	(Vandalism offences include offences such as criminal damage, arson, graffiti, vandalism rolling stock, etc., endangering safety, obstructing trains, throwing missiles and stonethrowing.)
	Railway Safety have estimated that the repair bill for the industry resulting from vandalism is some £25 million per year.
	Current initiatives to reduce vandalism of the rail network include:
	"Leave Sites Safe and Secure"—a Railtrack campaign to clear lineside debris which could be used in acts of vandalism. The overall aim of the campaign is to remove or safely secure all lineside materials by October 2002. The railway industry is working closely with HM Railway Inspectorate (HMRI) to achieve this objective;
	"National Route Crime Week" 17–25 June sponsored by the National Co-ordinating Group for Trespass and Vandalism (an SRA/Railway Safety body). There will be a number of activities including an open debate at the Health and Safety Commission's (HSC) Rail Industry Advisory Committee meeting on 25 June;
	Industry programmes for reducing vandalism, including a range of targeted engineering measures such as improved railway fencing and caging bridges at vulnerable locations. HMRI monitor these programmes and take action if necessary.

Railtrack

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what advice he has commissioned on rail safety and the state of Railtrack's assets since the appointment of an administrator for Railtrack.

Stephen Byers: Although the general safety record of the railway is good, the industry continues to focus on putting right specific weaknesses including those revealed by major accidents and in particular acting on the recommendations by Lord Cullen. It is for the Health and Safety Executive to ensure that the safety case for Railtrack is complied with.

Railtrack

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many engineers and trained safety staff have left Railtrack Plc in the last seven months.

Stephen Byers: Railtrack has told the Department that they continue to attract good numbers of high quality candidates for vacancies at all levels of the organisation. They are doubling their graduate intake from 35 to 70 and are particularly pleased with the number and strength of the applications received. Since 8 October Railtrack have recruited 69 qualified engineers. They are on course to achieve the target of 1,000 engineers in post within 18 months. Overall turnover rates, at some 10 per cent remain steady, with engineers lower at 6 per cent.

Railtrack

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what advice on safety he received in the weekly and four-weekly management reports from Railtrack in Administration.

Stephen Byers: The weekly and four weekly reports that the Department receives deal exclusively with financial matters.

Railtrack

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what advice the former Deputy Chief Inspector of Railways gave to the Administrator of Railtrack and himself following his appointment last year to ensure that safety in the railways is maintained.

Stephen Byers: Alan Cooksey, the Health and Safety Executive's former Deputy Chief Inspector of Railways was recruited by the Administrator to ensure that technical safety issues are properly considered. His responsibilities are to the Administrator and not to the Secretary of State.

Railway Lines (Trespass)

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many children have been found trespassing on railway lines in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: holding answer 22 May 2002
	Information held by the British Transport Police on the number of juvenile trespassers each year since 1997 is contained in the following table:
	
		
			 Year No. 
		
		
			 1998–1999 4188 
			 1999–2000 3573 
			 2000–2001 3175 
			 2001–2002 2647 
		
	
	(Juvenile trespassers include those 17 or under.)

Hendy Cross Junction

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions 
	(1)  whether the pavement condition assessment undertaken by the Highways Agency at Hendy Cross junction has been completed; and when it will be published;
	(2)  whether the geotechnical investigation undertaken by the Highways Agency at Hendy Cross junction has been completed; and when it will be published;
	(3)  whether a pre-order exhibition concerning the Hendy Cross junction will be held in High Wycombe in the autumn;
	(4)  when he will publish the environmental statement in relation to the Hendy Cross junction;
	(5)  when he will publish statutory orders under the Highways Act 1980 in relation to the Hendy Cross junction;
	(6)  whether the Highways Agency has decided to use an early design and build contract for construction of the improvements at Hendy Cross junction;
	(7)  whether short-term improvements to Hendy Cross junction are complete.

David Jamieson: I have asked the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, Tim Matthews, to write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Kevin Davies to Mr. Paul Goodman, dated 24 May 2002
	I have been asked by the Transport Minister, David Jamieson, to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about the long-term improvements to the M40/A404 Handy Cross Junction. I am replying in the absence of Tim Matthews, the Chief Executive who is currently on leave. The Highways Agency has undertaken considerable work since the publication of the Integrated Transport Study in January 2001. The short-term improvements identified in the study have been substantially completed and we have also completed a validation of the long-term proposals including further preliminary design work. To assist in this validation we have collected more detailed information on traffic movements through the junction together with pavement condition assessment and geotechnical investigations. The results of these investigations would not normally be published at this stage because they are working documents. It is too early to outline the future programme for this work, or to state how it would be processed. However, we would consider the advantages of appointing a contractor under our Early Design and Build Contract. We would want to see what innovations a contractor can bring to the scheme in terms of both design and construction techniques before publishing the draft orders. Following the appointment of a contractor a pre draft Orders exhibition would be held. This would then be followed by publication of the Environmental Statement and draft Orders. If you would like to discuss this further please contact the Agency's Project Sponsor, Andy Finch. He can be contacted at our Dorking office on 01306 878342.

Electronic Voting

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what projects have been commissioned by his Department into electronic voting since June 2001; which local authorities used electronic voting in the May 2002 elections; and in each case what the voting levels were in (a) 2002 and (b) the previous local authority elections.

Alan Whitehead: In August 2001, we jointly commissioned research by a team led by De Montfort University into the potential barriers to electronic voting. Our partners in this research included the Electoral Commission and the Local Government Association. The findings from this research were published on 23 May 2002.
	The local authorities that used electronic processes in the May 2002 local and Mayoral elections, and the turnout figures for them have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Freight Trains

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many freight trains operated between France and the UK in the week of (a) 1 March 2001, (b) 11 November 2001, (c) 23 December 2001 and (d) 12 May 2002. [R]

David Jamieson: I understand from the railway operator that the figures are as follows:
	
		
			 Date  
		
		
			 Week of 1 March 2001 78 trains* 
			 Week commencing 11 November 2001 23 trains 
			 Week commencing 23 December 2001 11 trains** 
			 Week commencing 12 May 2002 27 trains 
		
	
	*1 March 2001 was a Thursday whereas the three other dates are Sundays. This figure is calculated from the total train movements for March 2001.
	**This week covered the holiday period.

Housing Pilots (Teenage Parents)

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions in which areas the housing pilots for lone parents under 18 years of age will be sited; who is running each of the pilots; how much the pilots have cost so far; what form the evaluation of the pilots will take; and when the pilots are due to finish.

Sally Keeble: The table below provides the information requested on the housing pilots for teenage parents under 18 being funded through the Housing Corporation's Approved Development Programme and Supported Housing Management Grant.
	
		Teenage Pregnancy Pilot Schemes
		
			 Registered Social Landlord Area Approved Development Programme (capital) spend to date Supported Housing Management Grant (revenue) spend to date 
		
		
			 Metropolitan HA Brixton, Lambeth 141,050 0 
			 Nottingham Community HA Nottingham 87,500 6,454 
			 Tuntum HA Nottingham 130,000 37,002 
			 West Penine HA Oldham 265,042 18,991 
			 Bromford Carinthia HA Stoke on Trent 165,000 0 
			 Bromford Carinthia HA Sandwell 0 17,006 
			 Bromford Carinthia HA Sandwell 171,600 0 
		
	
	The Department will shortly commission research to monitor and evaluate the Approved Development Programme pilots for teenage mothers and supported accommodation provision funded through the Safer Communities Supported Housing Fund. The research will track the users of the supported accommodation, assess how well it meets their requirements and support needs, and how successful they are in achieving independence when they are ready to move on. The research will also assess the success of the schemes in terms of outcomes achieved, relative to their cost.
	We anticipate that these schemes will lose their pilot status on completion of the evaluation study in December 2003.

Scottish Executive

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions 
	(1)  how many representations the Scottish Executive has made to his Department since May 1999, broken down by (a) Scottish Executive department, (b) subject and (c) date;
	(2)  how many times his Office has made representations to the Scottish Executive since May 1999, broken down by (a) Scottish Executive department approached, (b) subject and (c) date.

Nick Raynsford: My Department has regular exchanges with the Scottish Executive, both formal and informal, at Ministerial and official level. Details are not collated centrally.

Reserved Powers

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans he has to transfer the administration of reserved powers and functions of his Department, its executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies within its remit from to his Department the Scotland Office.

Nick Raynsford: None.

Fire Stations

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many fire stations there were in (a) England and (b) Wales in each year since 1997.

Alan Whitehead: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to the hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mrs. May) on 19 March 2002, Official Report, columns 239–242.

Franchise

Tom Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what consultation his Department has initiated on the extension of the franchise to 16 and 17 year olds.

Alan Whitehead: We have initiated no consultation on the extension of the franchise to 16 and 17 year olds. However, as I informed the House in my answer of 22 November 2001 to the hon. Member for Montgomeryshire (Lembit Opik), Official Report, columns 755W, we would welcome a public debate on the issue. It is also open to the Electoral Commission to consider it and make recommendations for future policy.

Electoral Arrangements

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions 
	(1)  how many and what total amount of fines were imposed on those who failed to register on the electoral register in (a) the UK, (b) Greater London and (c) Enfield in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many cases of failure to register on the electoral register have been prosecuted in (a) the UK, (b) Greater London and (c) Enfield in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  if he will estimate how much expenditure was undertaken in compiling the electoral register in (a) the UK, (b) Greater London and (c) Enfield in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  if he will estimate how much income was derived from the electoral register in (a) the UK, (b) Greater London and (c) Enfield in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Whitehead: This information is not centrally recorded.

Electoral Arrangements

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions 
	(1)  what action he is taking to increase the take up of (a) postal voting and (b) proxy voting to increase turnouts in elections; and if he will make a statement.
	(2)  what action is being taken to increase the numbers registered on the electoral register; and if he will make a statement.
	(3)  what action is being taken to publicise the need to register on the electoral register; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Whitehead: Under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, responsibility for promoting public awareness of electoral systems and carrying out programmes of education and information is now for The Electoral Commission. I understand that The Electoral Commission is this year launching two main advertising campaigns to promote public awareness of the availability of absent votes and to encourage completion and return of the annual electoral registration form.

Electoral Arrangements

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what discussions he has had with the Electoral Commission regarding a review of election law; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Whitehead: In its report on the 2001 general election, The Electoral Commission outlined its plans to review a number of areas of electoral law and practice. Many of those reviews are now under way and my Department is heavily involved with them. I understand that the Commission intends to produce recommendations in time for them to be considered before the next election. In addition, there is considerable day-to-day contact between the Commission and the Department on a range of electoral issues.

Electoral Arrangements

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many prosecutions have been undertaken for non-registration with electoral registration officers; and if he will make a statement about the future of this offence in relation to access to electoral roll data without the consent of the voter.

Alan Whitehead: Information on the number of prosecutions for non-registration is not held centrally. There are no plans to amend the legislation requiring electors to supply information for registration. We published on 13th May our proposals to restrict access to, and sale and supply of, the electoral registers and the purposes for which they may be used. Our intention, subject to consultation and Parliamentary approval, is to make regulations before the summer recess. The increased privacy afforded by our proposals will reassure electors when providing information for registration.

Speed Limiters

Tom Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what progress has been made in developing technology to limit the speed of motor vehicles on public roads.

David Jamieson: A research project into External Vehicle Speed Control was carried out on behalf of the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions between 1997 and 2000. An Executive Summary of the results is available on the Department's website and copies have been placed in the library.
	A further project into Intelligent Speed Adaptation began last year and is expected to end in 2005.

Traffic Management

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what action he intends to take to reduce the number of pedal cyclists who ride through red traffic lights.

Stephen Byers: The Highway Code and road traffic law apply to cyclists as much as to anyone else. It is an offence under section 36 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to fail to comply with a traffic sign and the maximum fine is 1,000. The police can also prosecute cyclists who ride carelessly or dangerously and these offences carry maximum fines of 1,000 and 2,500 respectively. Enforcement of the law is a matter for the police.

Ports

Gwyn Prosser: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what recent forecasts of future trends in UK port traffic have been made by his Department; and what steps he is taking to ensure that sufficient port capacity will be available to meet predicted demand.

David Jamieson: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South (Mr. Hancock) on 22 April 2002, Official Report, column 57W, in which I referred to our ports policy paper, Modern PortsA UK Policy, published in November 2000, and a discussion paper, Recent developments and prospects in UK container ports, published in July 2001. Copies of both documents were placed in the Library. The Department plans to undertake shortly a further study like the one on containers on roll-on roll-off ferry capacity.

Ports

Gwyn Prosser: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what studies his Department has carried out to assess the likely contribution of port development to (a) integrated transport policy and (b) wider sustainable development objectives.

David Jamieson: I refer my hon. Friend to our ports policy paper, Modern PortsA UK Policy, copies of which have been placed in the Libraries of the House. The paper recognises the importance of ports in integrated transport and the importance of addressing this in regional planning guidance, and associated regional transport strategies.

Speed Cameras

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what revised guidance he has issued about the siting and operation of speed cameras.

David Jamieson: holding answer 23 May 2002
	The most recent announcement was made by my right hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Transport on 3 December. The rules announced ensure cameras will be visible and conspicuous as a condition of the Netting-Off arrangements whereby safety camera partnerships may recover their costs from revenue raised from fixed penalty tickets.

Infrastructure Projects

Paul Truswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions which proposals for new ports are under consideration that fall into the category of major infrastructure projects as defined by the Government's consultation paper, New Parliamentary Procedures for Processing Major Infrastructure Projects.

David Jamieson: Proposals for port developments are handled under a range of existing legislation (including the Harbours Act, the Transport and Works Act and the Town and Country Planning Act). Under the proposals for New Parliamentary Procedures for Processing Major Infrastructure Projects set out in the Government's consultation paper, only those projects of national importance which are designated by the Secretary of State, in the light of the definition proposed in Annex C of the paper, would be put to Parliament as major infrastructure projects for its consideration in principle. Designation of projects will be on a case by case basis under the proposed new legislation if enacted.

Age Discrimination

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if his Department will include the reduction of age discrimination in access to employment and services in future guidance on the evaluation and accreditation of local strategic partnerships.

Sally Keeble: The Government does not intend to include the reduction of age discrimination in access to employment within guidance on the accreditation of Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs). It is for the LSP to decide its objectives and priorities for action based on an assessment of local needs and in consultation with partners from the public, private, voluntary and community sectors.

Regional Assemblies

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the estimated cost is of establishing an elected South West Regional Assembly including the costs of a referendum and of the first elections; and what the estimated running costs are in each of the first three years.

Nick Raynsford: The costs of establishing elected regional assemblies will vary from region to region, mainly because of different sizes of their electorates. But we expect them all to fall in a range around 15 million to 30 million a region, including the costs of a referendum and of the first assembly elections. The South West is likely to be towards the middle of this range. Chapter 5 of the White Paper, Your Region, Your Choice, gave our estimate of the running costs of an elected assemblyaround 25 million a year, or around 20 million excluding the costs of staff who will transfer from existing public bodies.

Regional Assemblies

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if an elected regional assembly will have the power to impose unitary authorities on existing county and district councils if so recommended by the Boundary Committee.

Nick Raynsford: Our proposals for local government reorganisation in regions which have voted to have an elected assembly are set out in paragraphs 9.8 to 9.11 of the White Paper, Your Region, Your Choice, published on 9 May. The orders required to implement a reorganisation will be made by the Secretary of State and will need to be approved by Parliament. This process will run in parallel with the process for establishing an elected assembly for the region. But the assembly will have no powers or responsibilities involving the structure of local government in its region.

Road Safety

Archy Kirkwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what further steps he proposes to take to ensure that road safety targets for 2010 are met; to what extent the most recent road safety statistics are in line with current targets.

David Jamieson: The Government's strategy for achieving its casualty reduction targets for 2010 was set out in Tomorrow's roadssafer for everyone published in March 2000. We publish quarterly progress reports on the department's website.
	There were 41,564 road deaths and serious injuries in Great Britain in 2000the latest figure currently available. This was 2 per cent down on the figure for 1999 and represented a 13 per cent reduction against the average for 1994 to 1998 which is the baseline for the 40 per cent reduction that we want to achieve by 2010.
	There were 5,202 child road deaths and serious injuries. This was 9 per cent down on the figure for 1999 and a 24 per cent reduction against the 19941998 baseline for the 50 per cent reduction we want to achieve by 2010.

Parliamentary Questions

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when he will reply to the Questions from the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham Ref. 42127 tabled on 6 March and Ref. 47381 tabled on 10 April.

Sally Keeble: I answered Question Ref. 42217 (not 42127 as stated in the text of this question) on Monday 11 March, Official Report, column 753W.
	I understand Question Ref. 47381 was tabled to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and is not therefore a matter for my Department.

Regional Government

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what future role (a) regional development agencies and (b) Government offices for specific regions will play in areas that introduce elected regional assemblies.

Nick Raynsford: Chapter 4 of the White Paper Your Region, Your Choice (Cm 5511) sets out the role of elected regional assemblies in relation to Regional Development Agencies and some functions currently discharged by the Government Offices. Chapter 8 of the White Paper describes the continuing role of the Government Offices.

Best Value Audits

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what estimate he has made of the cost of complying with best value auditing requirements on councils (a) in England and (b) each council in England.

Alan Whitehead: In 2001, the most recent year for which figures are available, the total cost of undertaking Best Value Performance Plan audits was 11.45 million. The average cost to councils, by type, was:
	52,500London Boroughs
	43,400Metropolitan Councils
	37,500Unitary Authorities
	37,500County Councils
	21,500District Councils

Supporting People Partnership

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the cost is of the Supporting People Partnership (a) nationally and (b) in West Sussex.

Sally Keeble: The Government allocated 25 million in 2001/02 and 48 million in 2002/03 to implement the Supporting People programme. Implementation grants to West Sussex, including its district authorities, total about 222,000 and 456,000 in the same years.

Multi-modal Studies

Phil Hope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans he has to provide guidance to regional planning bodies on their consideration of multi-modal studies.

Stephen Byers: I have today written to the Chair of each Regional Planning Body in the following terms.
	I am writing about two issues relating to the handling of decisions on the recommended strategies which are now being produced by the multi-modal studies. These are the assumptions to be made about the possible future introduction of road user charging and the timetable for the submission to Ministers of RPB advice on study recommendations.
	I know that a number of multi-modal studies have been looking at the possible effects of distance based user charging on the inter-urban road network. As we set out in the 10 Year Plan for Transport, no decision on the role of charging in reducing congestion on the inter-urban network has been taken. As a practical matter, the hurdles involved in developing and testing the technology necessary to implement inter-urban road charging for cars and introducing it to 26 million private cars mean that it is extremely unlikely to be possible to introduce it before the end of this decade. This will also allow time to build experience with the distance charging system and associated technology for lorries. And it will provide time to continue the improvements in transport facilities and public transport for which the 10-year plan provides.
	Given the practical considerations, we do not believe that a system of road user charging for cars could be introduced this decade; accordingly the Government has no plans to do so. However, this is a subject where further work and research is needed and we will revisit it when sufficient progress has been made in clarifying the technical and practical issues involved. In the meantime, we note the arguments put forward by the Commission for Integrated Transport, RAC and others in favour of inter-urban charging, and others against, and are listening to the debate.
	As a consequence, the study recommendations should build in flexibility as to what should be done now given that we do not believe that a system of road user charging for cars could be introduced this decade and that no decisions have been made about the longer term introduction of road user charging. My Department will be re-emphasising this to the study teams.
	On the second issue, we have always recognised that before the Government takes decisions on the recommendations from the multi-modal studies it is important to have advice from Regional Planning Bodies on the way in which the recommendations fit with, and will contribute to, the Regional Transport Strategy and Regional Planning Guidance.
	However, it is also important to recognise that the studies have taken up to two years to produce their recommendations; that they have addressed the key issues in considerable detail in close consultation with local and regional interests; and that the Regional Planning Bodies have been represented on the study steering groups. This being the case, I believe that it is essential that we make decisions on the study recommendations, and start to resolve the problems on the transport network, as quickly as possible.
	I understand that, in the case of a number of studies, the Regional Planning Bodies are planning to take as long as six months to consider the study recommendations and submit advice to the Government. Since the Planning Bodies will have developed a good understanding of the key issues during the study process, I am not convinced that it is necessary to take this length of time to produce sound advice. I should therefore be grateful if, from now on, Regional Planning Bodies could normally aim to provide advice to Government within three months of receiving each study's recommendations. I realise that in some cases this may necessitate re-timing meetings of the full RPB. Nevertheless, given the need to maintain momentum in delivering the 10 Year Plan for Transport, I must ask you to do this where it is necessary to meet the three month deadline.
	On the timetable I have acknowledged the particular difficulty faced by the West Midlands RPB who are currently consulting on their regional planning guidance.

Constructionline

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement about the Consultation document Accelerating Change; what role Constructionline will play in public sector tendering; when Constructionline was formed; what percentage of public sector tenders were vetted by this company in each of the last three years; how many are expected in each of the next three years; what financial sanctions will be imposed on those public sector bodies that do not use Constructionline; and what investigations he has carried out into the cost effectiveness of alternative companies to Constructionline.

Brian Wilson: I have been asked to reply.
	I welcome the efforts of the Strategic Forum for Construction, which launched the Accelerating Change consultation document on 22 April. It is important that Rethinking Construction principles are adopted deeply and widely throughout the industry and among its clients. The challenge for the Forum, with support from DTI, is to ensure the final document secures widespread commitment to deliver change.
	Constructionline saves its clients (and registered firms) the bureaucracy and time otherwise required to process information about construction firms' underlying capacity and capability to undertake the types of work for which they offer themselves. Constructionline was formed in 1998. It does not vet tendersit addresses pre-tender enquiries. It is a voluntary service free to clients. Constructionline is owned by government and operated by a private sector partner following a tendering exercise.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Regional Development Agencies

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the board memberships for each regional development agency; whom she has consulted as representatives of local authorities whose areas fall within the agency's area before making the appointments to the board for each regional development agency; against what criteria applicants to the board of regional development agencies were judged; and what representations she has received concerning her appointments of the board members of regional development agencies.

Alan Johnson: In accordance with the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998, representatives of employers, employees, local authorities and those who live, work or carry out rural issues are consulted before appointments are made to the RDA boards. All stakeholders are consulted on all appointments.
	RDA appointments are made in accordance with the Office for the Commissioner of Public Appointments' Code of Practice. The selection criteria are drawn up for each round of appointments. I have placed in the library of the House the Information for Candidates for the last two apointments rounds, which includes the job specifications. There have been many replies to the various appointments rounds and details of these cannot be produced except at disproportionate cost.

Fireworks

Linda Gilroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will publish the fireworks injury statistics for 2001; and if she will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: The total number of persons recorded as attending hospital casualty departments in Great Britain during the 2001 bonfire night period was 1362. This represents an increase of 40 per cent on the previous year's total of 972. There were no deaths in the 2001 Bonfire period but we are aware of one death occurring outside the recording period.
	The increase in recorded accidents causes great concerns. We continue to do all we can to promote safety and to prevent misuse of fireworks.
	I am arranging for copies of the injury figures together with the analytical and regional tables to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses as well as on the DTI website: www.dti.gov.uk.

E-commerce

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry for what reason the proposed transposition of the EU e-commerce Directive into UK law, as set out in the Government's consultation document, is materially different from the form of transposition adopted by Germany.

Douglas Alexander: The aim of transposition is to reproduce faithfully the meaning of a Directive inand in accordance with the practice ofnational legislation. Member States may therefore adopt different wording in order to achieve the same effect and often do so. Whatever the textual differences, the Government's understanding is that the German legislation transposing the E-Commerce Directive has the same intention as the draft UK Regulations on which public consultation closed on 2 May. The Government is now considering whether the wording of the UK Regulations giving effect to that intention can be improved.

E-commerce

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she has received from (a) the e-envoy and (b) the Cabinet Office with regard to the implementation of the EU e-commerce Directive.

Douglas Alexander: The Department has worked closely with all branches of Government, including the Office of the e-Envoy and the Cabinet Office, in formulating its approach to, and proposals for, implementing the E-Commerce Directive and will continue to do so in finalising those proposals in the light of responses to the recent public consultation.

E-commerce

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of the world's electronic commerce business was conducted in Britain, (a) in March 2000 and (b) at the latest date for which figures are available.

Douglas Alexander: We have been unable to locate official statistics through ONS, OECD (or any other international group) that would allow a comparison between the UK and global levels of e-commerce value.

Consignia

Sandra Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the consultancies which have been commissioned by Consignia in each of the last three years, their remit and their cost.

Douglas Alexander: Under the commercial freedoms model enshrined in the Postal Services Act 2000, this is a commercial matter for the company.

Dartford Parcelforce Depot

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the decision of Consignia to close the Dartford Parcelforce Depot.

Douglas Alexander: Parcelforce Worldwide is losing 15 million per month. Despite investment of around 200 million in recent years, Consignia has failed to turn its parcels operation around and a new approach was needed to restructure and re-position the business. Closure of Dartford depot in August will result in business moving to a nearby facility in Charlton.
	The loss of jobs as a result of restructuring is regrettable. The company will offer as many as possible of those affected the option of continued employment with a different part of the business or a voluntary redundancy package.
	The decision to restructure Parcelforce was taken by the Board of Consignia. The Government accepts that action is necessary to stem the company's losses. Undertaking this action is a commercial matter for the Board of Consignia.

Nuclear Safety

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry who from her Department attended the Oslo Meeting from 68 May on nuclear accidents; and if she will make a statement.

Brian Wilson: No-one from my Department attended the meeting. Representatives from the UK Competent Authorities (DTI and DEFRA) under the International Atomic Energy Agency's Early Notification and Assistance Conventions were invited but were unable to attend owing to prior commitments and the need to prepare for a UK national exercise. The meeting in Oslo was a follow-up meeting to one held in June 2001 which was attended by UK representatives. Officials in DTI and DEFRA will be informed of the proceedings in due course.

Nuclear Safety

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the basis and outcome of the ISIS nuclear emergency exercise held in May.

Brian Wilson: Exercise Isis was held on 10 May 2002 based on a simulated emergency at Bradwell Power Station. This was part of an ongoing programme of regular off-site exercises for civil nuclear installations. These test the off-site facility for each site, in this case based at Essex Police HQ in Chelmsford, and involve a wide range of local and national agencies. As this was the National (level 3) exercise for 2002/03, this also tested the various government departments at their headquarters. The exercise tested the response to an event with off-site consequences wider than those usually tested.
	Preliminary indications are that this was a successful and worthwhile exercise. It is too early to comment in detail, as the process of collecting the considered comments of all participating organisations is still ongoing. As with all such exercises, the lessons will be fully evaluated and taken forward in future planning.

Nuclear Safety

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the recent international convention on nuclear safety; which members of her Department attended it; what was discussed; and what conclusions were reached.

Brian Wilson: Officials from my Department and from the Health and Safety Executive attended the second Review Meeting of the Contracting Parties of the Convention on Nuclear Safety held in Vienna from 1526 April 2002.
	The purpose of the meeting was to review the national reports of the Contracting Parties, which focused on the measures they have taken to implement the obligations of the Convention. The United Kingdom presented its report at the meeting, as did other Contracting Parties, and each report was subject to questions and debate by the Contracting Parties.
	Discussion of country reports during the review meeting is confidential. However, a Summary Report of the meeting, including conclusions and recommendations, is available on the IAEA website www.iaea.org. Publication of country reports is at the discretion of each Contracting Party. The United Kingdom's National Report and the reports of other Contracting Parties can be found on this site.

Confectionery (Safety)

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to her answer of 19 April 2002, Offical Report, column 1202W, whether her Department has received a report by RoSPA on the safety of confectionery products containing toys.

Melanie Johnson: The department received the RoSPA Report in May 2002.

Broadband

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to offer assistance to small businesses in rural areas to enable them to access broadband communications, as they become available.

Douglas Alexander: There are already a range of incentives to stimulate take up of ICT in the economy, notably 100 per cent capital allowance for ICT investment for small businesses and tax breaks for employees loaned a PC at home by their employer.
	In addition, some of the 30 million UK broadband fund will be used by Regional Development Agencies and the devolved administrations assist SMEs in getting broadband. Further work is being carried out to encourage infrastructure-sharing by telecommunications companies to reduce the cost of rollout, cutting red tape which may be holding back deployment of satellite broadband services and aggregating broadband procurement by the public sector in order to provide guaranteed levels of demand in rural areas.
	UK online for business covers the whole of the UK and has teams of business advisers in every part of the country based in Business Links run by the Small Business Service (and their equivalents in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland). Advisers provide practical, tailored, impartial jargon free advice on a wide variety of e-business and ICT topics, including broadband, to rural businesses. Business advisers are involved in a number of projects with local businesses in rural areas to ensure that they are able to exploit the benefits of ICTs and broadband for commercial advantage.

Broadband

Angela Browning: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when broadband will be available in the 01884 exchange area.

Douglas Alexander: holding answer 21 May 2002
	Broadband can be delivered by a variety of technologies of which only digital subscriber lines are fixed to telephone exchanges. Broadband is available by satellite throughout the UK. Rollout of other technologies is a commercial decision for the companies concerned.
	A map showing geographical availability of broad- band services can be found in the UK Online Annual Report [http://www.e-envoy.gov.uk/ukonline/champions/ anrep_menu.htm].

Broadband

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will estimate the percentage of the population unable to make use of (a) ISDN and (b) broadband at their home address in (i) Scotland, (ii) the UK and (iii) Dumfries and Galloway.

Douglas Alexander: The Office of Telecommunications (Oftel) holds detailed information regarding the UK telecoms market. ISDN is available from every digital telephone exchange in the country, although it cannot be guaranteed to every customer because of a range of geographical and technical features. Oftel have not made an assessment of percentage availability, since it is heavily dependent on localised factors.
	Broadband services by one or more of ADSL, cable and wireless are available to around 66 per cent of the population. Satellite broadband is available throughout the country.
	A map showing geographical availability of broadband services can be found in the UK Online Annual Report [http://www.e-envoy.gov.uk/ukonline/champions/ anrep_menu.htm].

Enterprise Bill

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations her Department has received regarding the Enterprise Bill during the Committee stage of the Bill in the House.

Melanie Johnson: The Department received representations from the following:
	Bankruptcy Association
	British Property Federation
	City of London Law Society
	Council of Mortgage Lenders

Oil and Gas Industry

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the economic impact of the additional levy on the oil and gas industry announced in the Budget 2002.

Bob Blizzard: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the impact on the amount of oil and gas that will be extracted from the UK continental shelf as a result of the imposition of the supplementary charge on the oil and gas industry.

Brian Wilson: The changes announced in his Budget by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer need to be considered as a carefully designed package of measures, with two key elementsthe 10 per cent supplementary charge and the generous 100 per cent investment allowance. I refer the hon. Member to the analysis of the likely effect of the measures proposed on new investment attached to the letter of 8 May from my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the right hon. Member for Fylde, a copy of which has been placed in the Libraries of the House. The economic impact will depend principally on the impact on investment.

Oil and Gas Industry

Bob Blizzard: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the impact on the PILOT initiative and its targets of the supplementary charge on the oil and gas industry.

Brian Wilson: PILOT, the joint Government-oil and gas industry forum, has an extensive action programme to improve the industry's competitiveness. It is pursuing a number of visionary targets for 2010 and last year set interim production and investment targets for 2005. I expect PILOT to continue to monitor progress against these targets. The fiscal regime is one of many influences on the success of the industry in meeting them. The changes announced in his Budget by my right hon Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer need to be considered as a carefully designed package of measures, with two key elementsthe 10 per cent supplementary charge and the generous 100 per cent investment allowance.

Oil and Gas Industry

Bob Blizzard: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the impact on the 20th licensing round of the supplementary charge on the oil and gas industry.

Brian Wilson: The 20th offshore licensing Round closed on 16 April, prior to the Chancellor's proposed changes to the North Sea fiscal regime in his Budget. A slightly higher proportion of blocks offered was applied for in the current Round as in the previous North Sea Round (the 18th).

Universal Bank

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress is being made with the plans to introduce a universal banking system into Post Offices; and if she will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: Progress continues to be made and a lot of detailed work is being carried out on implementing universal banking services for delivery in advance of the migration of benefit payment to ACT from April 2003.
	The Department for Work and Pensions, together with the Inland Revenue and the Northern Ireland Social Security Agency have agreed contractual terms with Post Office Limited for the provision of the Card Account and are working on implementation. The major High Street banks have also agreed that counter access to their basic bank accounts will also be made available at post offices and are in detailed discussions with Post Office Limited on implementation.

Leisure Park Operators

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what consultations she has had with representatives of leisure and residential caravan park operators on the maximum retail price provisions for electricity supply which are due to come into force on 1 January 2003.

Brian Wilson: The Department received some 25 representations from right hon and hon Members on behalf of park operators. The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets, which is responsible for the new arrangements, received over 300 representations and responses to its consultation papers on this subject and held discussions with the various trade organisations before finalising the new arrangements.

Marina Industry (Utility Prices)

Richard Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made by OFGEM in working with the leisure marine industry to produce guidelines for the implementation by marina operators of the maximum resale price provisions of the Utilities Act 2000.

Brian Wilson: Ofgem is aware of the particular concerns of the marina industry. I understand that it is currently drafting guidance which will assist the industry (as well as landlords and tenants) in understanding and implementing the revised rules. The material will be made available for comment within the next few weeks.

Scottish Dairy Sector

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent representations (a) she and (b) the Competition Commission have received regarding competition in the Scottish dairy sector.

Melanie Johnson: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has since December 2000 received correspondence about the Competition Commission report on the supply of fresh processed milk in Scotland. Correspondence has also been received about the current operation of the dairy market in Scotland which has been forwarded to the Director General of Fair Trading. The Competition Commission has also received two letters about their report. Anyone with concerns about the operation of the market in Scotland should put them directly to the Director General of Fair Trading.

Your Guide

Martin Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the Your Guide scheme will be introduced across the UK.

Douglas Alexander: The evaluation of the pilot of the Your Guide service of post offices as Government as General practitioners is well advanced. All relevant evidence from the pilot is being fully evaluated to determine whether the concept works. Further work to establish whether a national scheme could provide value for money to Government and help revitalise the post office network is being completed. The decision whether or not to roll out a national service, the form in which it would be offered and the timing of roll-out, will depend on the outcome of this work.

Renewable Energy

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions she has had about the United Kingdom's renewable energy manufacturing industry with (a) the devolved Administrations, (b) the regional development agencies, (c) her Department's sustainable energy policy unit and (d) other Government departments; and if she will make a statement.

Brian Wilson: My right hon. Friend the Secretary and State for Trade and Industry and I have regular meetings with the various parties mentioned on matters including energy policy.
	The development of the UK's renewable energy manufacturing industry is an integral part of the Government's strategy for renewable energy, to ensure that the UK obtains maximum advantage, in terms of new jobs and investment opportunities, from the planned expansion in renewable energy generation over the years ahead. We recently established the new unit, Renewables UK, with a specific responsibility to support the UK renewable energy manufacturing industry.

Coal Industry Pensions

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the reports of the Asset Liability Study carried out by the Mineworkers Pension Scheme and the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme have been received by (a) the trustees of the two schemes and (b) her Department.

Brian Wilson: holding answer 22 May 2002
	The results from the Asset Liability Studies commissioned by the Trustees of the Mineworkers' Pension Scheme and the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme have been presented to the two Schemes' Trustees and also made available to my Department in its capacity as the Guarantor of the two Schemes.

Beer Sales

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on Government policy towards ending short beer measures.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 22 May 2002
	Under existing case law, trading standards departments have difficulty in securing convictions for short measure beer unless the quantity of liquid served is less than 90 per cent after the collapse of the head of froth. On 18 March the Department published a consultation paper inviting comments on the proposal that measures should comprise not less than 95 per cent liquid after the collapse of the head of froth.

Beer Sales

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the impact on the brewing trade's revenue of proposals to allow public houses and other establishments to serve a pint at 95 per cent. of volume.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 22 May 2002
	The Department estimates that in order to serve measures containing not less than 95 per cent liquid, licensees would have to buy extra beer from brewers at a total cost of about 38 million at wholesale prices.

Beer Sales

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she has received from consumer groups about proposals to allow public houses and other establishments to serve a pint at 95 per cent of volume.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 22 May 2002
	The consultation period runs until 1 July. To date, I have received a representation from the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA).

Tourism

John Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what guidance she is providing to regional development agencies on the importance of tourism in setting priorities for capital investment in their regions.

Alan Johnson: It is for the Regional Development Agencies to determine how best to deliver their Regional Economic Strategies, in consultation with their regional partners. Under the Single Budget, operating since 1 April this year, the Agencies have much greater flexibility to target their resources on regional priorities, which may include appropriate tourism-linked measures. However, corporate planning guidance issued to the Agencies in October 2001 set out the Government's expectations of the Agencies in terms of the development and implementation from April 2002 of sustainable tourism strategies. We expect that Regional Development agencies will take account of the importance of capital investment in their regions in planning all their activities, including those related to tourism.

MOX Fuel Shipments

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry to what extent the approval process for the shipment and the transport package for the MOX fuel due to be returned from Japan to Sellafield, and the nuclear safety case associated therewith, has taken account of (a) reasonably foreseeable actions from malicious intent that could arise in United Kingdom territorial waters and during docking, handling and onward transport from Barrow to Sellafield, (b) how such actions have been incorporated in the nuclear safety assessment and licensing process as specific design basis threats, (c) whether the personnel and systems involved in all elements of the transportation and transfer from one mode of transport to another have been tested and trialled against a simulation of the appropriate design basis threat and (d) how each element has been assessed in terms of the personnel and systems deployed being shown to be adequate to maintain the MOX fuel in a safe state.

Brian Wilson: holding answer 22 May 2002
	The transport of MOX fuel at all stages is subject to the most stringent regulation. The Government's security advisers have assessed the potential threats posed to this shipment and are satisfied that the thorough precautions taken to prevent theft or sabotage are adequate and make the security risks associated with the shipment negligible. The precautions taken are designed to cope with all credible threats and comply with all relevant international obligations and recommendations on the physical protection of nuclear material and ensure that the security risks associated with this shipment are negligible. The shipment is accompanied by armed police officers from the United Kingdoms Atomic Energy Authority Constabulary who are trained to deal with any threats to the transportation. Temporary Workers Directive

MOX Fuel Shipments

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on her Department's policy on the proposed European Commission Directive on temporary workers.

Alan Johnson: holding answer 23 May 2002
	I refer my hon. Friend to the Explanatory Memorandum on the proposed directive on temporary agency workers, a copy of which is in the Libraries of the House. I intend to hold a public consultation on the proposed directive in due course.

Timeshares

Bob Blizzard: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when her Department will publish the results of its consultation paper Timeshare SalesImproving the protection of consumers.

Melanie Johnson: The Department has today published a response to the consultation. I have placed copies of the document in the Libraries of the House. Departmental Boards

Timeshares

Michael Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will announce the names of the independent members to be appointed to the Strategy, Executive and other Departmental Boards.

Patricia Hewitt: Further to my announcement to Parliament on 1 February, Official Report, column 619W, on the procedure by which independent members were to be appointed to my Department's new Boards, I am pleased to announce that the following people have now been appointed to the Boards. This information is also available on the DTI website.
	
		
			  Current position 
		
		
			 Strategy Board  
			 Sir Richard Sykes Rector, Imperial College of Science, Technology  Medicine 
			 Mair Barnes Non Executive Director, Scottish Power, Littlewoods plc, Patientline Ltd, Woolworths Holdings Ltd (South Africa) 
			 Tony Cooper Joint General Secretary, Prospect, Member of the Postal Services Commission and the Forestry Commission 
			 Executive Board  
			 Fields Wicker-Miurin Director, Vesta Capital Advisors Ltd 
			 Mary McAnally Former Managing Director, Meridian Broadcasting Ltd, Board Member of the South East of England Development Agency 
			 Crawford Gillies Managing Director Europe, Bain  Company Inc 
			 Business Group Board 
			 Nicholas Brayshaw Group Chief Executive, Wagon 
			 Richard Maudslay Managing Director, House of Hardy 
			 James Strachan Chief Executive, RNID 
			 Dianne Thompson Chief Executive, Camelot 
			 Energy Board  
			 Nicholas Baldwin Chief Executive, Powergen Plc 
			 Hon. Barbara Thomas Chairman, Private Equity Investor plc  Deputy Chairman, Friends Provident 
			 Fair Markets Board 
			 Rodney Buse Ex-Group Personnel Director, W H Smith; currently Vice Chair NCVO, chair of the voluntary sector's Quality Standards Task Group, Non Executive Director for various charities, including ICAN. 
			 Patricia Calway Director, Knowledgelink 
			 Margaret Prosser OBE Deputy General Secretary, TGWU 
			 Julia Unwin OBE Freelance consultant, Charity Commissioner and Board member, National Consumer Council 
			 Innovation Board 
			 Shahzad Khan MBE Director, Kensal Group 
			 Caroline Whitfield Chief Executive, Rapid Access Technology Partners 
			 Bill Callaghan Chair, Health and Safety Commission 
			 Services Board 
			 Mair Barnes Non Executive Director, Scottish Power, Littlewoods plc, Patientline Ltd, Woolworths Holdings Ltd (South Africa) 
			 Lesley James Non Executive Director, Selfridges plc, West Bromwich Building Society plc, Care UK plc and Queens Moat Houses plc. Former HR Director, Tesco plc. 
			 Alan Jones, OBE Managing Director, TNT Express

Information Security

Michael Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on progress with the report referred to on 28 March 2001 by the then Minister of State, Home Office on confidence in the information security consultancy sector.

Patricia Hewitt: I will place in the Libraries of the House copies of a report commissioned by Department on this subject. The report concludes that there are issues facing the sector and its customers and makes recommendations to both Government and the industry on how confidence in the industry may be enhanced. We are happy to take forward those recommendations which fall to the Department of Trade and Industry. The report does, however, conclude that there is no evidence to support the view that there is a serious problem in relation to confidence in the supply of information security consultancy services.

Entrepreneurship

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent measures have been taken to foster entrepreneurship in Coventry.

Alan Johnson: The Small Business Service, working through its restructured national network of Business Links, provides information, advice, and access to experts on all aspects of starting and running a business. Additionally, it has this month launched a consultation on A Comprehensive Strategy for Start-Ups which looks to strengthen and increase the UK's business stock.
	Business Link Coventry and Warwickshire directly assist around 300 companies a year to start trading. Recognising the need to have a more proactive and coordinated approach they convened a meeting of local partners, Local Authorities, the University Science Park, and Local Development Agencies, in February of this year. As a result of this meeting, they have agreed to work more closely together, and to adopt measures to increase the number of Start ups in Coventry and the surrounding areas.
	Two of the partners, Coventry and Warwickshire Co-operative Development Agency, and the Women's Business Development Agency with the support of the Business Link have both received funding from the SBS's Phoenix Fund. Over 500,000 has been awarded to these two projects to help support Women Entrepreneurs across the Region and Social Entrepreneurship in the most deprived wards in the Coventry area.

Government Agencies (South-East)

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what were (a) the cost of establishing, (b) the running costs since it was established and (c) the costs this year of (i) the South East England Development Agency and (ii) the Government Office for the South East.

Alan Johnson: Central Government expenditure of 12,800,000 in support of Regional Development Agencies administration is recorded for 199899the year prior to the establishment of the RDAs on 1 April 1999of which 461,000 was allocated to the South East of England Development Agency (SEEDA).
	The administration costs of the Agency for the following three financial years are set out below:
	
		SEEDA: Administration Costs (000s)
		
			 Financial Year Cost (000s) 
		
		
			 19992000 6,267 
			 200001 6,817 
			 200102 9,805(1) 
		
	
	Running costs for 200203 onwards were subsumed into the RDAs' Single Programme when it was introduced on 1 April 2002, and are no longer allocated separately. This was one of a number of flexibilities that underpin the Programme, and is intended to give the RDAs the freedom, and the responsibility, to determine their running costs so as best to achieve their objective and targets, within the confines of prudent financial management. However, the RDAs' financial management framework does include a requirement on each RDA to specify its running costs budget in its corporate plan, which has to be approved by Ministers. The running costs identified in SEEDA's approved corporate plan are 11,200,000 for the current financial year.
	The Regional Coordination Unit of the Cabinet Office have provided information in respect of the Government Office for the South East (GOSE). There is no record of the costs of setting up the Government Office, which was established in 1994, and there are no running costs figures available for the financial year 199495.
	The running cost of GOSE for the following seven financial years are set out below:
	
		GOSE: Administration Costs (000s)
		
			 Financial Year Cost (000s) 
		
		
			 199596 8,331 
			 199697 8,406 
			 199798 8,545 
			 199899 8,561 
			 19992000 8,659 
			 200001 8,953 
			 200102 10,312 
		
	
	For 200203, the initial running cost allocation for the financial year is 9,798,000.

Sellafield

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, when he last met representatives of the Irish Government to discuss safety at the Sellafield plant.

Brian Wilson: I have had no such meeting. The relevant regulatory bodies from the UK and Ireland have regular contacts, and arrangements are in place under which officials from my department meet Irish counterparts on a range of regulatory issues.

Government Online Procurement

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of Government procurement is done online; and if she will make a statement.

Andrew Smith: I have been asked to reply.
	This information is not held centrally.
	However, the Office of Government Commerce collects information on the proportion of low value purchasing transactions which are carried out electronically by central government departments and agencies. 57 per cent of low value purchases were undertaken electronically in the quarter OctoberDecember 2001 (the most recent figures analysed). This percentage includes online procurement over the Internet of low value goods  services, but specific figures for online procurement are not separately identified.
	Plans for further development of e-procurement in government purchasing will be announced later this year.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Annual Report

Brian White: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when her Department's Annual report for 2002 will be published.

Margaret Beckett: The Annual Report for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 2002 is published today.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how she intends the UK Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme 2002 will relate to the Clean Development Mechanism in the Kyoto Protocol.

Michael Meacher: holding answer 15 April 2002
	My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, intends to allow in principle companies within the UK Emissions Trading Scheme to use CDM related credits to help them meet their domestic obligations, and will make a final decision on the role of CDM credits within the scheme once the detailed rules on CDM have been agreed at international level. These rules are currently under discussion at the CDM Executive Board. We understand that the European Commission also intends to make a proposal on the project mechanisms, including the CDM, and their relationship to the European Emissions Trading Scheme early next year.

Coastal Byelaws

Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she will introduce legislation to implement the recommendations of the Review of Byelaws for the Coast published in 1998.

Alun Michael: Many of the recommendations arising from the Review of Byelaws for the Coast published in 1998 do not require legislation and we have given them priority. For example, we wrote earlier this year to local authorities encouraging them to implement those involving voluntary action on their part. Sport England is writing to the relevant sports governing bodies encouraging them to continue to promote good practice among their members. We are also planning to produce a comprehensive guide for local authorities on their powers and responsibilities. The guide will include examples of successful mixes of voluntary and legislative action by local authorities to regulate recreational activity on the coast. We shall take forward the recommendations requiring legislation after that.

Illegal Timber

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment has been made by the Government of the potential for legislation at a European level to combat the trade in illegally harvested timber; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Meacher: In its communication to the Council and the European Parliament of 13 February 2002 on a global partnership for sustainable development, the Commission stated that it will develop an European Union (EU) action plan by end 2002 on forest law enforcement, governance and trade and to strengthen international co-operation to address violations of forest law.
	An international workshop on Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade, including measures to combat illegal logging, was hosted by the European Commission in Brussels on 2224 April 2002 to help develop its action plan. The workshop discussed what measures could be taken by wood-producing and importing countries to combat illegal logging and the associated trade in illegally logged wood products.
	We supported the conclusions of the workshop that recognise the need for legislation to enforce the control of access to the EU market of illegally logged timber and timber products. The EU plan of action will include consideration of legislative requirements.

Flood and Coastal Defence

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she will publish reports received under her Department's high level targets for flood and coastal defence; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: I am today publishing four reports and placing copies in the House Libraries. These reports relate to:
	Target 1Policy statements; Target 2Provision of flood warnings; Target 3Emergency exercises and emergency plans; and Target 9Biodiversity.
	I am grateful to the Environment Agency for providing these reports and to the other operating authorities who have contributed to the work which is being reported upon. The severe floods of Autumn 2000 created inevitable delays in producing these reports. Some other reports will be produced later this year, covering a two year period.
	The high level targets initiative is designed to secure a more certain delivery of the Government's policy aim and objectives for flood and coastal defence. In the difficult circumstances of the past year or so the results being reported today are encouraging though they do point to the need for further work to be done, including by some operating authorities, to offer a more consistent approach to service delivery.
	On target 1, I am pleased that the great majority of operating authorities have produced a suitable statement of their policy towards flood and coastal defence. While there is a significant minority of local authorities who have not produced statements, many of them are understood to have little or no flood and coastal defence responsibilities. Nevertheless there are some local authorities who have more significant responsibilities and we will be working with the Environment Agency and Local Government Association in encouraging them to produce statements.
	On target 2, I note that overall some two-thirds of the Environment Agency's severe flood warnings were issued in accordance with their service standards. This is encouraging especially in the face of the severe demands of the 2000 floods. The Agency nevertheless recognise that there is room for improvement and are working on a new investment strategy. It is also worth recording that since Autumn 2000 a further 322,000 properties are covered by the Agency's flood warning arrangements.
	On target 3, programmes of emergency exercises were disrupted by the 2000 floods, foot and mouth disease and, to some extent, the events of September 11. Nevertheless 22 emergency exercises were carried out in 2001 and lessons learned from them are identified in the report. 27 local or regional exercises are planned for this year and a national exercise is planned for 2003. I am also pleased to note that good progress has been made in ensuring that local emergency plans cover flooding and that there are arrangements in hand for these to be reviewed, particularly to cover the local sources of flooding and provision of sandbags.
	On target 9, the report shows that flood and coastal defence works have resulted in net gains in a number of habitats covered by Biodiversity Action Plans. This work is often alleged to be damaging to the environment but the report provides evidence to the contrary. While this is very encouraging, work is in hand to ensure more rigorous collection of this information for future reports.
	I expect to publish further reports later this year. We will also be working with the operating authorities in reviewing the operation of high level targets with a view to refining and extending the initiative.

Institute for Animal Health

Ian Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the Department Accounting Officer has decided that he will take steps to recover the public money committed to the Institute for Animal Health study into sheep TSEs.

Margaret Beckett: In his capacity as the Departmental Accounting Officer, the Permanent Secretary for DEFRA has secured the assurance of the BBSRC, IAH's sponsoring organisation, that the sum of 100,000 has been invested to examine and improve quality control procedures for the specialist work that IAH carries out on behalf of DEFRA. This investment equates to the value of the work which IAH undertook into the TSE experiments. There were unique features surrounding this particular experiment and we recognise the outstanding contribution that IAH has made in this field of research. I believe that this outcome satisfactorily resolves the issues for both the Department and the Institute.

A404 (Bisham)

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what advice she has received from the Government Office for the South East on the use of her powers to create an order for a footpath under the flood arch on the A404 at Bisham, Berkshire, as a diversion of footpath Bisham.

Alun Michael: holding answer 23 May 2002
	The question refers to a footpath (Bisham 9) which crosses the A404 near Maidenhead, a busy dual carriageway which links the M4 and M40. Although the path is well used and traffic speeds are typically 6070 mph, no crossing facilities are provided. Accidents have occurred and the situation is recognised as being dangerous. It was suggested by the Ramblers Association that a culvert under the road a short distance away could be used by walkers. The Highways agency has no objection to this, but it would require the diversion of the path to the culvert crossing point. The Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, as highway authority, made a diversion order under S119 of the Highways Act, but when the landowner objected they withdrew the order, rather than sending to the Secretary of State for confirmation. Instead, they proposed a new route taking the path some half a kilometre along the road to another culvert, which is already to be used as a crossing for another path. The Ramblers say that the alternative path is circuitous, inconvenient and inferior to their proposed route in many ways. It would also leave the present dangerous crossing point open. From the information that we gathered from the parties concerned, there appears to be some justification in these criticisms, I have asked lawyers for advice on these issues in order to come to a conclusion on the way forward as quickly as possible.

Hunting

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) submissions the Minister for Rural Affairs has received and (b) meetings he has attended with outside organisations concerning the current consultation on hunting with dogs.

Alun Michael: Following my statement to the House on 21 March, in which I announced a process of consultation on the practical issues of detail with a wide variety of interested parties, I then wrote to every member of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. At the same time, I also wrote to a wide range of interested organisation and members of the public. I have received over 7,000 letters and submissions in response.
	Since my statement to the House on the 21 March, I have met the Countryside Alliance and its Campaign for Hunting; the Campaign for the Protection of Hunted Animals, comprising the RSPCA, the League Against Cruel Sports and the International Fund for Animal Welfare; and the Middle Way Group. I have promised to continue to engage with all three of these main groups. I have also met the Independent Supervisory Authority for Hunting, the National Coursing Club and Protect our Wild Animals. I plan to hold meetings with various other organisations, including further meetings with the three main interest groups, over the coming weeks. In addition to these meetings, I have met delegations from the Countryside Alliance on a variety of occasions at various locations around the country, including the North of England, the East Midlands, the South West, Yorkshire and North Wales.
	Many of those responding to my letter of 10 April simply expressed strongly held and passionate views either for or against hunting with dogs. Others addressed the principles on which the legislation will be basedthe principles of cruelty and utilityand included some very interesting comments from organisations and individuals with relevant experience. I shall continue to engage on the issues with the main representative groups and with other organisations with a particular interest in hunting with dogs.
	While the volume of responses has put pressure on the team within DEFRA, the work of analysing the responses is almost complete. I shall write again shortly to all MPs, Peers, Assembly Members and a wide range of interested organisations, providing a further opportunity to submit facts and evidence on what have emerged as the specific topics and key issues that need to be addressed on how the principles which will underpin the legislation should be applied to practical situations.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Digital Television

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the number of subscriptions to (a) digital terrestrial, (b) digital satellite and (c) digital cable television held by her Department for services in any departmental building from which Ministers work, stating for each subscription its (i) cost and (ii) purpose.

Kim Howells: holding answer 10 April 2002
	The DCMS' provider of additional television channels cannot currently offer digital television to the Westminster area. Therefore DCMS receives all its additional television services through analogue cable television.

Broadband

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the cost of providing broad band services per (a) urban dwelling and (b) rural dwelling.

Douglas Alexander: I have been asked to reply.
	There are a number of technologies used to provide broadband services. Each of these has a different cost structure and may suit different markets, including those defined by geography. The Government takes a technology neutral approach and aims to make the market more extensive and competitive.

National Stadium

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if the Government will reimburse Birmingham City Council for the cost of the Birmingham bid for the National Football Stadium.

Tessa Jowell: No. Those local authorities and other bodies who made proposals to the English National Stadium Review team did so on their own volition.

British Museum

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the items in the British Museum's collection that have been (a) sold and (b) otherwise disposed of since 1972.

Kim Howells: holding answer 20 May 2002
	The Trustees of the British Museum are permitted by the British Museum Act 1963, Section 5 to dispose of items in the collection where they are duplicates or unfit.
	The British Museum sold 21 duplicate prints in 1986 and a duplicate set of Hiroshige woodblock prints in 1995. Some 2,600 duplicate coins, medals and badges and 117 duplicate western prints have been exchanged for similar material since 1972. Two bronze plaques from Benin were exchanged for a unique bronze horseman in the style of the Lower Niger Bronze industry in 1972. A relic of cannibalism, judged unfit to be retained in the Museum's collection was exchanged with Fiji for a collection of prehistoric sherds in 1975.

Playing Fields

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will provide a breakdown by region in England of the number of planning consultations received by Sport England in relation to change of use of playing fields in (a) 19992000, (b) 200001 and (c) 200102; and how many of these had planning permission granted.

Richard Caborn: holding answer 20 May 2002
	The breakdown by region in England of the number of planning applications affecting playing fields received by Sport England for the years 19992000 and 200001 (figures for 200102 are not available); and how many received planning permission are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Region 19992000 Planning Permission granted 20002001 Planning Permission granted 
		
		
			 East 38 21 93 65 
			 East Midlands 33 21 75 55 
			 London 31 8 37 17 
			 North East 39 22 36 28 
			 North West 95 64 132 93 
			 South East 152 106 226 147 
			 South West 57 33 43 25 
			 West Midlands 111 89 162 121 
			 Yorkshire 101 67 98 60 
			 Total 657 431 902 611 
		
	
	Planning applications affecting playing fields can often involve a change of use that benefits sport rather than resulting in the outright sale of playing fields or their development. It should also be noted that where planning permission is granted this does not necessarily mean that the proposed development or change of use went ahead. Comprehensive data is not collected centrally on whether planning applications are actually implemented.

National Insurance

John Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to her answer of 7 May 2002, Official Report, column 6364W, what her latest assessment is of the wage costs of (a) community amateur sports clubs and (b) the fitness industry.

Richard Caborn: This information is not available. The wage costs of individual economic sectors are analysed each year in the New Earnings Survey, a publication of the Office of National Statistics. Trends in wages in the fitness industry, and among the non-volunteer staff of community amateur sports clubs, are not separately analysed.

Reserved Powers

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to transfer the administration of reserved powers and functions of her Department, its executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies within its remit from her Department to the Scotland Office.

Richard Caborn: There are no plans to transfer any reserved powers and functions to the Scotland Office.

Scottish Executive

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many times her Office has made representations to the Scottish Executive since May 1999, broken down by (a) department approached, (b) subject and (c) date.

Richard Caborn: This information is not collated by the Department. The Department has regular contact with the Scottish Executive at all levels across the full range of subjects for which the Department is responsible.

Scottish Executive

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many representations the Scottish Executive has made to her Department since May 1999, broken down by (a) Scottish Executive department, (b) subject and (c) date.

Richard Caborn: This information is not collated by the Department. The Department has regular contact with the Scottish Executive at all levels across the full range of subjects for which the Department is responsible.

Press Releases

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many press releases have been issued by her Department to date in each month of 2002.

Richard Caborn: The number of press releases issued by the Department for Culture Media and Sport to date in each month of 2002 is as follows:
	
		
			 Press Releases for 2002 per Month  
		
		
			 January 27 
			 February 15 
			 March 33 
			 April 26 
			 May (so far) 15 
			 Total to present date 87

Press Releases

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many press releases were issued by her Department (a) in each month between May and December 1997 and (b) in each year from 1998 to 2001 inclusive.

Richard Caborn: The number of press releases issued by the Department for Culture Media and Sport in each month (a) between May and December 1997 and (b) in each year from 1998 to 2001 inclusive is as follows:
	(a)
	
		
			 MayDecember 1997  
		
		
			 May 27 
			 June 29 
			 July 40 
			 August 14 
			 September 27 
			 October 41 
			 November 34 
			 December 35 
			 Total 247 
		
	
	
		
			 (b)  
			 19982001  
			 1998 319 
			 1999 315 
			 2000 332 
			 2001 324 
		
		
			 Total 1290

Golden Jubilee

Brian White: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for South Suffolk (Mr. Yeo) on 11 February 2002, Official Report, column 58W, if she will list the events ministers will attend as part of the Queen's Golden Jubilee celebrations.

Tessa Jowell: My right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, Ministers from other Departments and I will attend a number of the national events in central London over the Jubilee Weekend of 14 June 2002 including the Service of Celebration and Thanksgiving at St. Paul's Cathedral on 4 June 2002.
	The Prime Minister will also be celebrating with his constituents over the Jubilee Weekend and with others elsewhere in the region. Other Ministers have already accepted invitations to attend Jubilee events in their constituencies during The Queen's programme of visits around the United Kingdom and taking place as part of the celebrations in local communities throughout the summer months.
	Details of The Queen's visits and many other Jubilee events can be found on the official Golden Jubilee website at www.goldenjubilee.gov.uk

British Board of Film Classification

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when the British Board of Film Classification's Annual report will be published.

Tessa Jowell: The British Board of Film Classification's Annual Report is published today and I have arranged for copies to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Parliamentary Advisers

Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the (a) names and (b) responsibilities are of parliamentary advisers appointed to serve her Department.

Richard Caborn: holding answer 22 May 2002
	Ministers in this Department have made no such appointments. The following Members have, however, been asked to act as sport liaison Members, providing a conduit of communication in order to extend relations with particular sports, integrating contacts and increasing mutual understanding. These are unpaid, non-governmental positions.
	
		
			 Member for . . .  Sport 
		
		
			 Birmingham, Northfield Motor Sports 
			 Birmingham, Sparkbrook and Small Heath Cricket 
			 Eccles Defence Sports 
			 Jarrow Football 
			 Luton, North Yachting 
			 Mansfield Horse Racing 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne, North Athletics 
			 Nottingham, South Tennis 
			 Reading, East Cycling 
			 Reading, West Shooting  Fishing 
			 Rugby and Kenilworth Golf 
			 Sittingbourne and Sheppey Rugby Union 
			 Tyne Bridge Greyhound Racing 
			 Wakefield Rugby League

Parliamentary Advisers

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what the duties are of hon. Members appointed as sponsors to her Department; and what assistance is given by officials in her Department to them in carrying out these duties;
	(2)  which hon. Members have been appointed as sponsors to her Department since 7 June 2001; and when each of them were appointed.

Richard Caborn: I refer the hon. Member to the Answer above to the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed (Mr. Beith).

WORK AND PENSIONS

Workless Households

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the number of workless households.

Nick Brown: We have introduced a range of initiatives, including the New Deals, to help people move from dependence on benefits to independence through work. Our new Jobcentre Plus service brings together benefits and employment to provide an integrated work-focused service to ensure that all people of working age claiming benefits are aware of the help and support available to enable them to move into work. There are also 63 Action Teams for Jobs in some of the most deprived areas of the UK. Action Teams provide tailored support to enable people on all working age benefits to move back to work.
	In 1997 the number of workless households in Great Britain stood at 3,174,000. The most recent information for 2001 shows this figure has fallen to 2,952,500, a decrease of 221,500 (7.0 per cent). Source: Labour Force Survey, National Statistics.

Employment Action Teams (Newcastle)

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which wards of the City of Newcastle upon Tyne are covered by the services of Employment Action teams; what criteria were used to determine the coverage of the teams; who set those criteria; and whether they are under review.

Nick Brown: The wards being targeted by the Newcastle upon Tyne Action Team for Jobs are Monkchester, West City, Walker, Byker, Elswick, Benwell, Scotswood, Woolsington, Fawdon, and Kenton. They were selected because their working age employment rate was 58.5 per cent or below. The selection criteria were set by labour market economists in the former Department for Education and Employment and agreed by the Treasury. The wards targeted by the Action Team will be reviewed if there is significant depopulation in any of them.

New Deal

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much on average of the resources allocated to New Deal training is spent on (a) training and (b) administration.

Nick Brown: The full contract price is payable to New Deal providers. It is not possible to identify separately how much of their funding providers allocate to administration and how much to training. In some circumstances the provider may subcontract some of the training provision. Where this is the case, the provider may retain a management or administration fee. We do not specify the amount that should be retained for this purpose, but we would not expect it to exceed 10 per cent of the contract price. Where an administration fee is retained, it is normally around 6 per cent of the contract price. The appropriateness of the level of administration is assessed as part of the contract tendering process.

New Deal

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will conduct an inquiry into the level of administration in the New Deal programme.

Nick Brown: We keep the level of New Deal administration under constant review. Significant reductions have already been made, for example, in the number of forms needing completion. We are looking at ways to reduce administrative burdens even further. For instance, we are considering how we can use information technology more effectively as a means of exchanging information between providers and Jobcentre Plus.

New Deal

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will conduct an inquiry into the proportion of the budget spent on administration by individual training providers under the New Deal programmes.

Nick Brown: Providers are already subject to contractual and quality audits, which cover their administrative arrangements. Jobcentre Plus Regional Contracts Managers, District Quality Management Teams and the Adult Learning Inspectorate conduct individual provider assessments and reviews which cover the administration, delivery, quality and propriety of the provision being delivered. Providers' administrative arrangements are monitored to ensure appropriate records are being kept for audit purposes.

New Deal

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to ensure that the resources allocated for training under the New Deal are spent on training.

Nick Brown: New Deal providers are subject to thorough contractual and quality audits. These specifically consider the delivery of training against the requirements set out in providers' contracts. Jobcentre Plus Regional Contracts Managers, District Quality Management Teams and the Adult Learning Inspectorate conduct individual provider assessments and reviews, which cover the administration, delivery, quality and propriety of the provision being delivered.

Committee Mandates

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the mandate of the Advisory Committee on Employment is; how many times it has met over the last 12 months; what the UK representation on it is; what the annual cost of its work is to public funds; if he will list the items currently under its consideration; if he will take steps to increase its accountability and transparency to Parliament; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Brown: The legal base of the Employment Committee is Article 130 of the Treaty establishing the European Community.
	The Committee's mandate is to promote co-ordination between Member Sates on employment and labour market policies. The Committee has the tasks of: monitoring the employment situation and employment policies in the Member States and in the Community; formulating opinion at the request of either the Council or the Commission; and, contributing to the preparation of the European Employment Strategy.
	The Committee has met seven times over the past 12 months.
	The size of UK delegation (drawn from officials in the Department for Work and Pensions and the department for Education and Skills) varies between two and three depending on the agenda for the meeting. In addition, for the next 12 months, the Committee is chaired by a UK official.
	The cost to public funds of UK attendance for Committee meetings in Brussels was approximately 11,550. The Commission reimburses the travel costs of two delegates per meeting. Over the period, this reimbursement amounted to some 5,600. The Chairman's costs are funded directly by the Commission.
	The Committee's agenda over the next few months will focus on examining the National Employment Action Plans for 2002 which were submitted by the Member States on 1 May 2002 and considering proposals for the future of the European Employment Strategy.
	My right hon. Friend, The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has responsibility for UK employment policy and is accountable to Parliament for the work of the UK Government members on the Committee. The Department for Work and Pensions prepares explanatory memoranda on EU documents that are deposited in Parliament for scrutiny. These arrangements will continue.

Committee Mandates

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the mandate of the Advisory Committee on social security for migrant workers is; how many times it has met over the last 12 months; what the UK representation on it is; what the annual cost of its work is to public funds; if he will list the items currently under its consideration; if she will take steps to increase its accountability and transparency to Parliament; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Brown: The Advisory Committee on Social Security for Migrant Workers is set up under Articles 82 and 83 of Regulation (EEC) 1408/71, which contains the rules for co-ordination of Member States' social security schemes for workers who move within the European Economic Area. Its role is to examine questions arising from the implementation of Regulation 1408/71 and Regulation (EEC) 574/72 (the procedures for implementing Regulation 1408/71), to formulate opinions for the Administrative Commission and proposals for revision of the Regulations.
	The Committee has met once during the last twelve months. It is chaired by the Presidency of the day and the UK representation consists of two officials from the Department for Work and Pensions (normally only one attends), three trade union representatives and three employers' representatives. Costs to UK public funds were limited to the official's expenses, approximately 500, less any reimbursements provided by the European Commission.
	On the agenda at the last meeting were the Chairman's report on changes to Community legislation, a report of the work of the Administrative Commission from its Chairman, a report on the decisions of the European Court of Justice since the last Committee meeting, a report on developments in the Technical Commission programme and information on the state of play in the process of enlargement of the EU.
	Any proposals for revision of the social security co-ordinating regulations made by the Committee and adopted by the European Commission would be subject to scrutiny by the UK Parliament.

Committee Mandates

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the mandate of the Advisory Committee on the free movement of workers is; how many times it has met over the last 12 months; what the UK representation on it is; what the annual cost of its work is to public funds; if he will list the items currently under its consideration; if he will take steps to increase its accountability and transparency to Parliament; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Brown: The Advisory Committee on the freedom of movement of workers is set up under Articles 24 and 25 of Regulation (EEC) No 1612/68, on the freedom of movement of workers within the European Community. Its role is to assist the European Commission in the examination of any questions arising from the application of the Treaty in matters concerning the freedom of movement of workers and their employment.
	The Committee normally meets twice a year. The UK representatives are two officials from the Department of Work and Pensions, two employers' representatives and two trades union representatives. Costs to UK public funds are limited to the expenses of the one or two officials who attend each meeting, approximately 1,500 per annum less any reimbursements provided by the Commission.
	On the agenda at the last meeting were reports from the European Commission on enlargement of the European Union, latest developments of the European Employment Services network, developments on a Communication from the Commission: New European Labour Markets, open to all with access to All, implementation of Directive 96/71/EEC on posting of workers and on the Commission's legislative and policy initiatives concerning third country nationals; and a report on relevant judgements of the European Court of Justice since the previous Committee meeting.
	The Committee assists the European Commission in matters concerning the free movement of workers. Any proposals it made for revising Regulation (EEC) 1612/68 that were adopted by the Commission would be subject to UK Parliamentary scrutiny.

Committee Mandates

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the mandate of the Technical Committee for the implementation of regulations concerning the free movement and employment of workers is; how many times it has met over the last 12 months; what the UK representation on it is; what the annual cost of its work is to public funds; if he will list the items currently under its consideration; if he will take steps to increase its accountability and transparency to Parliament; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Brown: The Technical Commission is set up under Article 117c of Regulation (EEC) 574/72, which lays down the procedures for implementing Regulation (EEC) 1408/71 (coordination of Member States' social security schemes for workers who move within the European Economic Area). The Commission's mandate is to improve and modernise the administration of Regulation 1408/71, with particular regard to the increased use of information technology.
	The Commission meets four times a year. It is chaired by the Presidency of the day and the UK representation consists of two officials of the Department for Work and Pensions and a specialist from the Department's IT provider. Costs to UK public funds are about 2,000 per annum, after reimbursements provided by the European Commission.
	Items of work currently under consideration include, replacing present paper based exchanges of data with electronic methods; improving clearance times for old age pension claims by documenting best practice in member states; linking of national web sites to improve information to people moving abroad to work and the proposed European Health Insurance Card.
	The Technical Commission is accountable to the Administrative Commission for Social Security for Migrant Workers to whom it presents an annual work plan and progress report.

Committee Mandates

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the mandate of the Administrative Commission on social security for migrant workers (and working parties) is; how many times it has met over the last 12 months; what the UK representation on it is; what the annual cost of its work is to public funds; if he will list the items currently under its consideration; if he will take steps to increase its accountability and transparency to Parliament; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Brown: The Administrative Commission on social security for migrant workers is set up under Articles 80 and 81 of Regulation EC 1408/71, which lays down the rules for co-ordination of Member States' social security schemes for workers who move within the European Economic Area. The Administrative Commission's main function is to deal with administrative questions and questions of interpretation of the provisions of Regulation 1408/71. This enables consistency in implementation across the Member States. Among its other tasks are the fostering and development of co-operation between Member States in social security matters and it may submit proposals for revising the Regulation.
	The Administrative Commission has met five times in the last year (and there have been three meetings of the working party). It is chaired by the Presidency of the day and the UK representation is normally two officials from the Department for Work and Pensions and one each from the Department of Health and the Inland Revenue (the latter has responsibility for National Insurance and tax credits, both of which come within the scope of the Regulation). Normally only one or two officials attend working party meetings. Annual cost to UK public funds is limited to expenses, amounting to about 12,000, less any reimbursements provided by the European Commission.
	Items on the agenda of the last meeting of the Administrative Commission included technical adaptations to be made to Regulation 1408/71 with a view to the next enlargement of the EU; a report on the implementation of the Regulation's provisions for posted workers; questions relating to the social security insurance liability of certain categories of worker; the proposed European Health Insurance card; questions relating to the benefit entitlement of pensioners staying in a Member State other than the one where they live, changes to a form Member States use to facilitate benefit claims when more than one State is involved and matters relating to electronic issue of documents. Working party meetings discuss in more depth questions arising from the Regulation and from the procedures for implementing it.
	Any proposals for new or revised Regulations made by the Administrative Commission and adopted by the European Commission would be subject to UK Parliamentary scrutiny.
	Pensioner Incomes

Committee Mandates

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of (a) male pensioners aged 70 years and under and (b) male pensioners aged 81 years and over, had incomes in (i) the bottom, (ii) the second bottom, (iii) middle, (iv) second top and (v) top income quintile in each of the past six years.

Ian McCartney: The information is in the tables:
	
		Percentage distribution of income for male pensioners. Excluding the self-employed
		
			 Percentage of pensioners Net equivalised disposable household income 
			  Bottom quintile Second quintile Third quintile Fourth quintile Top quintile Total (millions) 
		
		
			 Before Housing Costs   
			 Male pensioners   
			 19956 26 28 21 14 11 3.5 
			 19967 22 29 22 15 12 3.5 
			 19978 23 30 21 15 11 3.5 
			 19989 25 29 20 15 11 3.5 
			 19992000 23 30 21 14 11 3.6 
			 200001 24 29 21 15 11 3.6 
			 of which: aged 70 and under 
			 19956 20 26 24 17 14 1.4 
			 19967 16 28 24 18 15 1.4 
			 19978 18 27 23 18 14 1.4 
			 19989 19 27 23 17 14 1.4 
			 19992000 17 29 23 17 14 1.4 
			 200001 18 27 24 16 14 1.4 aged over 80 
			 19956 29 28 21 13 9 0.5 
			 19967 29 32 20 11 8 0.5 
			 19978 26 31 21 14 8 0.5 
			 19989 31 30 16 14 10 0.5 
			 19992000 32 27 22 12 7 0.5 
			 200001 28 30 21 12 10 0.6 
		
	
	
		Percentage distribution of income for male pensioners. Excluding the self-employed
		
			 Percentage of pensioners Net equivalised disposable household income 
			  Bottom quintile Second quintile Third quintile Fourth quintile Top quintile Total (millions) 
		
		
			 After Housing Costs   
			 Male pensioners   
			 19956 18 31 22 16 13 3.5 
			 19967 16 31 22 17 14 3.5 
			 19978 18 31 22 17 13 3.5 
			 19989 18 30 21 16 14 3.5 
			 19992000 17 31 22 16 14 3.6 
			 200001 18 29 22 16 15 3.6 
			 of which: aged 70 and under   
			 19956 14 27 24 18 17 1.4 
			 19967 12 27 24 21 16 1.4 
			 19978 14 26 23 20 17 1.4 
			 19989 15 25 23 18 18 1.4 
			 19992000 14 27 22 20 17 1.4 
			 200001 14 25 23 20 17 1.4 
			 aged over 80   
			 19956 22 33 19 15 11 0.5 
			 19967 23 36 18 13 10 0.5 
			 19978 19 34 21 15 10 0.5 
			 19989 23 32 17 15 12 0.5 
			 19992000 25 33 20 12 11 0.5 
			 200001 22 34 19 13 13 0.6 
		
	
	Notes for tables:
	1. All figures are estimates and are taken from the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) series, which is derived from the Family Resources Survey (FRS). The FRS does not include Northern Ireland, and the latest year for which data is available is 200001.
	2. The estimates are sample counts, which have been adjusted for non-response using multipurpose grossing factors. Estimates are subject to both sampling error and to variability in non-response. The income measure used is weekly net (disposable) equivalised household income (that is to say income that is adjusted to reflect the composition of the household).
	3. The estimates are presented on both a Before Housing Costs (BHC) and an After Housing Costs (AHC) basis in line with HBAI conventions. Figures are provided excluding the self-employed, as research suggests that, for self-employed people, income as reported in surveys is often a poor indicator of living standards. HBAI convention is to present results excluding the self-employed, presenting results including the self-employed where the two differ significantly.

Minimum Income Guarantee

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners are in receipt of the minimum income guarantee in (a) Scotland and (b) Midlothian.

Ian McCartney: As at February 2002, there were 181,000 MIG recipients in Scotland and of these there were 1600 recipients in the parliamentary constituency of Midlothian.
	Source: Income Support Statistics Quarterly Enquiry, February 2002.

Minimum Income Guarantee

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many pensioners in (a) St Helens, South, (b) St Helens MBC area, (c) Merseyside, (d) the North West and (e) England are eligible to claim the minimum income guarantee.

Nick Brown: pursuant to his answer, 26 March 2002, c. 99799
	Estimates of the number of people eligible for the Minimum Income Guarantee are not available below National level. Figures for the number of pensioners who may be entitled to but are not receiving the MIG are contained in the publication, Take Up of Income Related Benefits: Statistics for 19992000.
	The figures in the report pre-date the MIG take up campaign in May 2000 which, up to the end of January 2002 has resulted in 128, 163 additional successful claimspensioners are on average 20 a week better off as a result.
	The table below shows the number of MIG recipients as at November 2001, by area:
	
		
			 Area Number of MIG claimants 
		
		
			   
			 St Helens South Parliamentary 
			 Constituency 
			  3,200 
			 St Helens MBC 6,300 
			 Merseyside 61,800 
			 North West GOR 245,400 
			 England 1,459,200 
		
	
	Source:
	Income Support Statistics Quarterly Enquiry November 2001.

Funding (Luton, South)

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what moneys have been provided (a) directly and (b) via agencies for which the Department has responsibility to the Luton, South constituency since 1997.

Nick Brown: The Department does not maintain expenditure information in respect of individual Parliamentary constituencies.

EMI (Redundancies)

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what measures the Government have taken to assist those made redundant recently by EMI.

Nick Brown: In March, EMI announced that they would be making 1,800 redundancies spread across their operations in 50 countries. Of these, over 250 were in the UK190 in Swindon and 66 in London.
	Where significant redundancies occur, we aim to support those affected by helping them to move quickly into new jobs and preventing them from becoming detached from the labour market.
	Jobcentre Plus have met with EMI and arranged briefings for all the employees to ensure that those affected by the redundancies receive the help they need to make the transition into sustainable new jobs. Like other unemployed people, those who have been made redundant can access the range of help provided by Jobcentre Plus.

Pensions

Nick Hawkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to allow investors in SERPS-related funds freedom to transfer funds to alternative providers when a particular provider is under-performing in the market; and if he will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: Individual members can already transfer their funds to alternative providers if they wish to do so. Current legislation allows individuals in either a personal pension scheme or stakeholder pension scheme who receive the contracted-out rebate to transfer funds to another appropriate personal pension or stakeholder pension scheme operated by another provider. We have no plans to amend this practice.

Incapacity Benefit

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have been diagnosed as being clinically obese and are in receipt of incapacity benefit.

Mr. Brown: As at 3 November 2001, 700 people receiving Incapacity Benefit had obesity (E66) recorded as their primary diagnosis.
	Source: The figure is based on a 5 per cent sample of the Incapacity Benefit computer system which excludes a small number of clerically held cases. It is rounded to the nearest hundred.
	Notes: 1. Diagnoses are coded using the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition. (ICD10), published by the World Health Organisation. The code in brackets shows the ICD10 code. 2. If a person has more than one medical condition only the primary diagnosis is recorded.

War Widows Pensions (Care Costs)

Calum MacDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the total loss of income to local authorities that would result from disregarding war widows pensions when calculating the cost of residential and nursing care under the National Assistance Regulations; and how many people currently paying charges under the regulations would be affected.

Jacqui Smith: The Department has no plans to disregard the full amount of the war widows pension from the financial assessment for residential care.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Young People

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills on what subjects and on which dates her Department has consulted organisations representing young people; and if she will list such organisations.

Ivan Lewis: The precise information requested is not held centrally in the manner requested and could only be secured at disproportionate cost. The Department is in regular contact with organisations which represent young people, including for example the Millennium Volunteers National Forum and the British Youth Council. We have involved young people and the organisations which represent them in many of the Department's initiatives, including consulting pupils on the Education White Paper and engaging young people in the development of the Connexions Service. We are currently consulting young people on our 1419 proposals. On 20 May the Department invited over 130 young people from around the country to our offices to give their opinions on our education policies.
	The Department is committed to the new core principles for the involvement of children and young people published by the Minister for Young People in November 2001. The Department will shortly be publishing an action plan setting out for the first time how it will implement these principles to extend the participation of children and young people in the design, provision and evaluation of policies and services that affect them. The action plan will describe our recent achievements in involving children and young people as well as our plans for the future.

Golden Jubilee

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what her Department's policy is on the promotion of Her Majesty The Queen's Golden Jubilee in schools; and how this policy is being integrated into the regime of Ofsted.

Ivan Lewis: My Department has encouraged school children to play an active role in the Jubilee celebrations through its support of a range of projects, including a National Poetry Competition, the Commonwealth Games Spirit of Friendship Festival and the Millennium Children's Tapestry of Hope. Information about these projects and others, as well as helpful links to many useful resources for schools, is available on my Department's website at www.dfes/gov.uk/jubilee. I welcome the exciting and imaginative contributions school children are already making to the celebrations.
	OFSTED's policy in relation to HM The Queen's Golden Jubilee is a matter for HM Chief Inspector of Schools and I have therefore asked David Bell to write to the hon. Member and to place a copy of his letter in the Library.

Post-16 Education

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what was the average number of teaching hours per week for (a) 16 to 18-year-old students studying full-time in further education colleges and (b) 16 to 18-year-old students with special needs studying full-time in further education colleges in the last academic year.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 16 May 2002
	In FE, teaching hours are expressed as guided learning hours per year. The average number of guided learning hours for full-time students aged 16 to 18 in FE colleges was 720 hours per year in 200001. For those students with special needs, the average was 731 hours per year.

European Council

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what progress there has been on the agreement at the European Council's meeting at Lisbon to establish a new Europe-wide database on jobs and learning opportunities.

Ivan Lewis: At the Barcelona Council in March 2002, the Council decided that a one stop European Job Mobility web site should be established with a view to its full operability by the end of 2003 at the latest.
	The Commission is currently developing an Internet portal aimed at providing access to information on job and learning opportunities. The launch of the portal is scheduled for November 2002.

Child Care

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many family centre places were provided by local authorities on 1 April;
	(2)  how many places were provided in school holiday schemes in each of the past five years;
	(3)  how many places in after-school clubs were provided in each of the past five years;
	(4)  how many places were provided by playgroups in each of the last five years;
	(5)  how many playgroups there were in each of the past five years;
	(6)  how many registered childminders there were in each of the past five years;
	(7)  how many places there were in day nurseries in each of the past five years.

Margaret Hodge: The available information is shown in the tables.
	The information was provided by Local Authorities.
	Latest figures on Day Care facilities in England were published by the Department in the Statistical Bulletin Children's Day Care facilities at 31 March 2001 (08/01) in October 2001, a copy of which is available from the Library. An electronic copy of this publication is also available on the Department's web-site at www.dfes.gov.uk/ statistics
	
		Table 1: Number of daycare providers by type, 1  England 19972001. Position at 31 March each year
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 
		
		
			 Day nurseries 6,100 6,700 7,000 7,500 7,800 
			 Registered childminders 98,500 94,700 82,200 75,600 72,300 
			 Playgroups and pre-schools 15,800 15,700 15,000 14,300 14,000 
			 Out of school clubs 2,600 3,100 3,800 4,400 4,900 
			 Holiday schemes(2) 5,300 6,200 10,200 11,700 12,900 
			 Family centres 480 490 470 440 430 
		
	
	(1) Figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred.
	(2) Holiday schemes are counted once for each holiday period in which they operate.
	
		Table 2: Number of daycare places by provider type,(3) England 19972001. Position at 31 March each year
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 
		
		
			 Day nurseries 193,800 223,000 247,700 264,200 285,100 
			 Registered childminders 365,200 370,700 336,600 320,400 304,600 
			 Playgroups and pre-schools 383,700 383,600 347,200 353,100 330,200 
			 Out of school clubs 78,700 92,300 113,800 141,100 152,800 
			 Holiday schemes(4) 209,000 256,500 435,300 490,400 598,000 
			 Family centres .. .. .. .. .. 
		
	
	(3)Figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred.
	(4)Holiday schemes are counted once for each holiday period in which they operate.

Education Act

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many representations she has received from local authorities concerning sections 39 and 40 of the Education Act 2001.

Stephen Timms: My right hon. Friend has received a number of representations on sections 39 and 40 of the Education Act 2001 from local authorities and the Local Government Association, including a number of responses from local authorities to the Achieving Success White Paper consultation.

Standard Assessment Tests

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what consideration she has given to investigating the effects on primary schools' performance statistics resulting from children who have been registered for year 6 SATS but are subsequently unable to sit them through illness or unauthorised absence.

Ivan Lewis: The primary school performance tables are wholly inclusive and as such report on the achievements of all pupils at the end of Key Stage 2including those absent on the day of the tests. For some schools this can have an effect on the percentage of pupils achieving Level 4 or above. The qualitative average point score, however, disregards pupils absent on the day of the tests, which redresses the balance of information presented in the tables.

Press and Public Relations

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much expenditure her Department has incurred between 1997 and 1999 on employing external consultants to deal with the press or public relations of her Department.

Ivan Lewis: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Isle of Wight on 17 April 2002, Official Report, column 963W and 964W.
	There was no expenditure on press consultants.
	PR consultants have been employed to organise support for Departmental campaigns such as Millennium Volunteers, the Get On adult basic skills campaign, the Aim higher campaign to widen participation in higher education and the Dads  Sons campaign to encourage fathers to get more involved in the education of their 1114 year old sons.
	These PR companies do not duplicate the conventional press handling for the Department which is carried out internally.

Land Sales

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the land that her Department is (a) offering for sale and (b) plans to offer in the next 12 months, giving its (i) location and (ii) size.

Ivan Lewis: My Department currently has no land for sale and no plans to offer any within the next 12 months.

TREASURY

Sick Leave

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many days of sick leave were taken in his Department last year; how many related to employees suffering (a) stress and (b) other mental health problems; and what the cost was to his Department.

Ruth Kelly: holding answer 14 May 2002
	The latest published information covering 2000 is contained in the annual report Analysis of Sickness Absence in the Civil Service published by the Cabinet Office. That report shows an average number of working days sickness absence per staff year of 9.9 days for non-industrial civil servants. The Treasury figure was 3.9 days per staff year. Around 14 per cent of sick absence in 2000 in the Treasury was for mental health conditions (including stress) and around 4 per cent was for stress. Information on costs could only be provided at a disproportionate cost. The Treasury has a legal obligation to provide a safe working environment for all employees and is committed to minimising the number of working days lost generally due to work related injuries and illness.

Pensioner Income

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Sheffield, Hillsborough (Helen Jackson) of 9 May 2002, Official Report, column 399W on pensioner income, if he will break down the figure given for the increase in the income of the average pensioner household, by the different tax and benefit changes to which he attributes the increase.

Dawn Primarolo: The average pensioner household will be around 400 per year better off due to the Government's personal tax and benefit changes announced in the latest Budget and Pre Budget Report. The breakdown by the different tax and benefit changes is as follows:
	
		
			   
		
		
			 Pension Credit 320 
			 Winter Fuel Payments 50 
			 Basic State Pension 35

Investment Institutions (Failures)

Chris Grayling: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with the Financial Services Authority on contingency plans for the failure of (a) Equitable Life and (b) other major investment institutions.

Ruth Kelly: The Financial Services Authority and HM Treasury have regular contacts and discuss a range of regulatory issues.

Savings Gateway

Joan Walley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the need for savers in the Savings Gateway to be able to access their funds and the Government's matched contribution to meet unexpected needs;
	(2)  what estimate has been made of the number of low-income families who will benefit from the Savings Gateway once it is implemented nationally;
	(3)  what tendering process was used to award Halifax plc partner status in the four Savings Gateway pilot projects;
	(4)  what plans he has to allow investments in the Savings Gateway to include methods of deposit other than cash;
	(5)  what role he plans for private sector financial services providers and mutual societies in delivering the Savings Gateway;
	(6)  what assessment he has made of the (a) open market model and (b) licensed-provider approach in delivering the Child Trust Fund; and if he will make a statement.
	(7)  what criteria have been used to determine the eligibility of families to participate in the Savings Gateway in the pilot areas of (a) Gorton, (b) Tower Hamlets, (c) Cumbria and (d) Cambridgeshire;
	(8)  what incentive he will establish for a single service provider of the Savings Gateway to invest in and innovate the service;
	(9)  what restrictions will be placed on the use of matured assets in the (a) Child Trust Fund and (b) Savings Gateway;
	(10)  what role he plans for private sector financial services providers and mutual societies in delivering (a) deposit capability, (b) investment management and (c) advice and information when managing the child Trust Fund;
	(11)  what level of redress there will be for children born before the Child Trust Fund's deadline for tax free saving; and if he will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: The Government announced more detailed plans for the Child Trust Fund and Saving Gateway in Delivering Saving and Assets, published in November 2001. This document also raised some questions about the Child Trust Fund for further consultation and announced the Government's intention to pilot the Saving Gateway.
	As set out in Delivering Saving and Assets, eligibility for the Saving Gateway is intended to be through a passport to an existing working-age benefit, tax credit or measure of income used in a tax credit. The number of people who could benefit from the national Saving Gateway will depend on the exact eligibility criteria chosen. As stated in Delivering Saving and Assets, the Government believes that it is important for low-income savers in the Saving Gateway to be able to withdraw their own savings without restriction, to ensure that they have access to their financial assets in order to meet unexpected needs. For this and other reasons, the Government believes that the Saving Gateway should be a cash-based account, as stated in Delivering Saving and Assets. When a Saving Gateway account matures, it is intended that savers will be able to access the Government's matched contribution without restriction. Although methods for making deposits into the Saving Gateway remain to be decided, easy accessibility will be very important. In line with the results from previous consultation, the Government stated in Delivering Saving and Assets that the optimum model for delivering the Saving Gateway would be for a single provider, ideally with a branch network. Such a provider might be either a single financial services or a consortium of providers operating in some form of partnership. Decisions on the respective roles of the private sector, including mutual societies, and arrangements to encourage innovation have not been taken.
	Pilots for the Saving Gateway are being established. They will be used to test aspects of the delivery of the Saving Gateway. The pilots require the involvement of a financial service provider with branches to operate the accounts. The Government raised this issue with the British Bankers Association and Building Societies Association, and requested these organisations to ask their members to indicate whether they would be interested in participating. After discussions with a small number of potential partners, the Government accepted an offer from Halifax to provide the required branches, branch staff and account management systems for the pilots. Eligibility for savers to participate in the Saving Gateway pilots in the areas selected will be based on criteria reflecting the intention for the national Saving Gateway to be available through a passport to an existing working-age benefit, tax credit or measure of income used in a tax credit.
	In Delivering Saving and Assets, the Government states that it sees a key role for private sector financial service providers, including mutual societies, in delivering the Child Trust Fund, including aspects relating to financial education. The document presents two options for the involvement of financial services providers: open market competition and a licensed provider approach. Consultation on these two different models is now closed and the Government will be reporting back on the results of this consultation, including an analysis of these options, in due course. Delivering Saving and Assets indicated that the Government does not intend that the use of assets from a maturing Child Trust Fund at maturity will be restricted. The Government has not taken any decisions about arrangements, if any, for children born before the launch of the Child Trust Fund. Most children in the UK are not liable for income or capital gains tax because they do not earn incomes, from saving or other sources, to take them above the relevant thresholds. Parents can currently save on behalf of their children in a variety of tax-advantaged ways.

Credit Unions

Tom Harris: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many employer-based credit unions were operating in the UK in (a) 1997 and (b) 2001.

Ruth Kelly: In 1997 there were 87 wholly employer-based credit unions operating in the UK. In 2000 there were 93. The information for 2001 is not readily available.

Credit Unions

Tom Harris: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many community-based credit unions were operating in the UK in (a) 1997 and (b) 2001.

Ruth Kelly: In 1997 there were 382 wholly community-based credit unions operating in the UK. In 2000 there were 375. The information for 2001 is not readily available.

Census Records

John Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the estimated annual storage costs are for each of the (a) 1921, (b) 1951, (c) 1961 and (d) 1971 decennial population census records for England and Wales; and which Department is responsible for paying those storage costs.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. John Taylor, dated 24 May 2002
	As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the estimated annual storage costs are for each of the 1921, 1951, 1961 and 1971 decennial population census records for England and Wales; and which Department is responsible for paying those storage costs. (59067)
	Currently the estimated annual storage costs for each of these censuses are:
	
		
			   
		
		
			 1921 9,500 
			 1951 17,000 
			 1961 26,500 
			 1971 69,000 
			 Total 122,000 
		
	
	As Registrar General, I am responsible for the custody of these census records and the Office for National Statistics is responsible for paying these storage costs.

Press Releases

Pete Wishart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many press releases have been issued by his Department in each month of 2002.

Ruth Kelly: The information required is set out below.
	
		
			  No. 
		
		
			 January 3 
			 February 12 
			 March 15 
			 April 11 
			 May 7 (as at 22/5/02)

Press Releases

Pete Wishart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many press releases were issued by his Department in each month between May and December 1997.

Ruth Kelly: The information required is set out below.
	
		
			  No. 
		
		
			 May 19 
			 June 14 
			 July 25 
			 August 6 
			 September 13 
			 October 16 
			 November 18 
			 December 19

Financial Services Ombudsman

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many complaints there have been about the Financial Ombudsman's handling of casework (a) in the UK and (b) in the Blackpool, South constituency in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Ruth Kelly: (a) Ahead of assuming its full powers on 1 December 2001, the Financial Ombudsman Service consolidated and revised the different procedures that the eight predecessor schemes had in place for handling complaints against themselves. The Financial Ombudsman Service Board appointed an Independent Assessor on 1 December 2001 and, in the period since his appointment up to 31 March 2002, he received 50 complaints. Of these, 12 were upheld (in whole or in part), 14 were rejected, 8 were determined to be outside the Independent Assessor's terms of reference and 16 awaited a decision. Earlier figures for complaints against the eight predecessor schemes are incomplete. (b) Of the 50 complaints received by the Independent Assessor, none came from the Blackpool South constituency (postcodes FY4, FY3 and FY1).

Endowment Mortgages (Mis-Selling)

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many complaints have been received about the mis-selling of endowment mortgages by (a) the Financial Services Authority and (b) the Financial Ombudsman (i) in the UK and (ii) in the Blackpool South constituency in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Ruth Kelly: (a) The Financial Services Authority does not deal with complaints but can answer general queries about financial products and services, including about endowment mortgages and who to contact if consumers have a complaint about one. Since August 2000 the FSA has had a total of 25,309 enquiries about endowments in general. Separate figures for the Blackpool South constituency are not available.
	(b) The Personal Investment Authority Ombudsman Bureau dealt with endowment mortgage complaints until 1 December 2001 when it was succeeded by the Financial Ombudsman Service. (i) The total number of endowment mortgage complaints received by these bodies was:
	
		
			 Year   
		
		
			 19971998 2,751 PIAOB 
			 19981999 2,856 PIAOB 
			 19992000 3,135 PIAOB 
			 20002001 9,067 PIAOB 
			 20012002 14,595 PIAOB/FOS 
		
	
	(ii) Separate figures for the Blackpool South constituency (postcodes FY4, FY3 and FY1) are only available for the year 20012002, when 20 complaints were received.

Parliamentary Questions

Andrew Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of ordinary written Questions for his Department were answered within a week of tabling in each month since June 2001; and what proportion of questions for named day received a substantive answer on that day in each month since June 2001.

Paul Boateng: 3,558 of the 4,563 written Parliamentary questions tabled to the Treasury in the present session have been answered on time, the detailed breakdown sought by the hon. Gentleman being as follows.
	
		
			  Named Day questions answered on the nominated day (per cent) Ordinary Written questions answered within a week of being tabled (per cent) 
		
		
			 June 95.4 77.4 
			 July 72.9 85.8 
			 October 65.4 75.3 
			 November 70.3 82.3 
			 December 74.7 77.0 
			 January 77.4 73.3 
			 February 83.3 77.7 
			 March 63.3 80.9 
			 April 43.9 88.4 
			 May (to date) 88.2 83.3

Parliamentary Questions

Tim Loughton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the question from the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham Ref. 31887 tabled on 28 January; and if he will make a statement as to the cause of the delay.

Ruth Kelly: I answered the hon. Gentleman's question on 13 March, Official Report, columns 11089W.

Euro

Alex Salmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what analysis he has made of which industries are most likely to benefit from the UK joining the European single currency market.

Ruth Kelly: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Leicester East on 25 March, Official Report, column 775W.

Euro

Alex Salmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a further statement on when the Government intends to conduct a referendum on the euro.

Ruth Kelly: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Buckingham on 2 November 2001, Official Report, column 885W.

Euro

Alex Salmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how the Government will inform the public of the issues at stake before a euro referendum.

Ruth Kelly: The Government has said that it will complete an assessment of the Five Economic Tests within two years of the start of this Parliament. Once the assessment is complete, the Government will publish the conclusions and the report.
	If, on the basis of the assessment, a decision to recommend joining is taken by the Government, it will be put to a vote in Parliament and then to a referendum of the British people.

Euro

John Whittingdale: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take account of the CFA franc zone's effect on monetary policy in the Eurozone in assessing the five economic tests for joining the euro; and if he will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: The Government has said that it will complete an assessment of the five economic tests within two years of the start of this Parliament. All relevant economic issues will be dealt with as part of the assessment.

Euro

Ian Davidson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the criteria by which he will judge whether the five economic tests have been met clearly and unambiguously.

Ruth Kelly: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Yeovil on 17 January Official Report, column 438W.

Financial Services Authority

Tim Loughton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the forecast income is to the FSA from fees charged to WI markets under the Registrar of Friendly Societies responsibilities being transferred to the FSA from 1 December 2001.

Ruth Kelly: The Financial Services Authority estimates the income from fees it charged to all WI markets societies between the period December 2001 to March 2002 at 2400.

Departmental Reports

Barbara Follett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the 2002 Departmental reports will be published.

Andrew Smith: The planned publication dates of the 2002 Departmental Reports are as follows:
	
		
			  Date 
		
		
			 Department for International Development 24 April 
			 Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 23 May 
			 Department for Work and Pensions 23 May 
		
	
	Departments listed below; week beginning 10 June:
	British Trade International
	Cabinet Office
	Charity Commission for England and Wales
	Department for Culture, Media and Sport
	Department for Education  Skills and Office for Standards in Education
	Department of Health
	Department of Trade and Industry
	Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions
	Export Credits Guarantee Department
	Food Standards Agency
	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	Government Actuary's Department
	Her Majesty's Customs  Excise
	HM Treasury
	Inland Revenue
	Lord Chancellor's Departments
	Ministry of Defence
	National Savings  Investments
	Northern Ireland Office
	Office for National Statistics
	Office of Fair Trading
	Scotland Office
	The Law Officers' Departments
	Wales Office

Care Homes

Tim Loughton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the cost of the increases in National Insurance rates on care homes.

Ruth Kelly: I regret that it would only be possible to provide a reliable estimate at disproportionate cost.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Volunteers

Graham Allen: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he has taken since May 1997 to invite members of the public to volunteer to serve on (a) taskforces and (b) other ad hoc advisory bodies; and how many such volunteers have been appointed.

Christopher Leslie: Task forces, ad hoc advisory groups and reviews are by their nature created to provide advice on a particular subject or subject area. Ministers can, and often do, seek participants from a wide range of backgrounds to provide the best possible advice. Many of them give their time and efforts freely, though precise details are not held centrally.

Public Appointments

Andrew Turner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list members of local and national public appointments commissions, stating in each case (a) what other public appointments each has held and when, (b) what political affiliation each has recorded, and when, and (c) the postal district of their place of residence.

Christopher Leslie: The post of the Commissioner for Public Appointments was established by the previous administration in 1995, in response to a recommendation made by the Committee on Standards in Public Life in its First Report (Cm 2580). The Commissioner is appointed by the Queen under the Public Appointments Order in Council 1995, as amended by the Public Appointments Order in Council 1998, and is independent of both the Government and the Civil Service.
	The present Commissioner is Dame Rennie Fritchie, who was appointed for an original three-year term in 1999, and who has since been re-appointed to serve a further three-year term from March 2002 to February 2005.
	Dame Rennie was previously Chair of Gloucester Health Authority from 19881992; South-Western Regional Health Authority from 19921994; South and Western Region NHS Executive (formerly South and Western Regional Health Authority) from 19941997. There is no requirement on holders of this office to record their political affiliation, if any. I am advised by the Commissioner's Office that the postal district of Dame Rennie's place of residence is GL1.
	In April 2001, the Government established an independent NHS Appointments Commission. At present there are around 4,000 chairs and non-executives on NHS boards whose appointments are now the responsibility of the Commission. The Commission has a Chair, Sir William Wells and eight Regional Commissioners namely, Mrs. Gillian Camm, Mrs. Jane Isaacs, Dr. John Marshall, Sir Ian Mills, Mrs. Brenda Sills, Mr. Michael Taylor, Mrs. Rosie Varley and Mr. Bernard Williams. Details of previous public appointments that they have held are contained in the press releases announcing their appointments, copies of which are in the libraries of the House. There is no requirement on the Chair or the Regional Commissioners to record their political affiliation, if any.
	I am advised by the NHS Appointments Commission that the Chair and the Regional Commissioners live in the following postal districts, Sir William Wells (TW10), Mrs. Camm (GL13), Mrs. Isaacs (WV1), Dr. Marshall (DL2), Sir Ian Mills (SE13), Mrs. Sills (NG31), Mr. Taylor (CH1), Mrs. Varley (IP33) and Mr. Williams (SL6).

Regional Observatories

Theresa May: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  what the estimated expenditure by regional observatories is in England in the current financial year; and what proportion of this expenditure will by financed by central Government;
	(2)  which Government department has responsibility for overseeing the regional observatories and if he will make a statement on their purpose.

Barbara Roche: Regional observatories are independent entities formed by partnerships of regional organisations, including academic institutions, regional assemblies, regional development agencies, and Government Offices for the Regions. They aim to share the production, analysis and dissemination of intelligence and research related to regional policy. No Government department has responsibility for overseeing them.
	Each regional observatory has been established as a local initiative. Funding has to date been from a variety of sources and is often in kind. The table below shows the current progress of each observatory and sources of funding.
	It has not been possible to itemise the amount of funding for each observatory, given the mix of funding from different sources. Government Office of the Region contributions have been in staff time rather than financial contribution and the table includes estimates. Some of the expenditure would have been incurred in any case by the various sponsor organisations.
	
		Progress of Regional Observatories and Current Funding
		
			 Region Status Lead Partners Funding Source Government Office Input 
		
		
			 North East Planning Stage ONE North East, North East Regional Assembly, Government Office for the North East None as yet 8 per cent of 1 staff year 
			 North West Operational as the North West Regional Intelligence Unit North West Development Agency Mainly North West Development Agency 7 per cent of 1 staff year 
			 Yorkshire  the Humber Operational as Yorkshire Futures Regional Intelligence Network Yorkshire Forward, Government Office for Yorkshire  Humberside, South Yorks Learning  Skills Council, Yorkshire Universities, Northern  Yorkshire and Trent Public Health Observatories Yorkshire Forward, Skills Development Fund, European Social Fund Objective 3 5 per cent of 1 staff year 
			 East Midlands Operational as East Midlands Observatory East Midlands Development Agency, Regional Assembly, East Midlands Local Government Association, Government Office for the East Midlands East Midlands Development Agency, Regional Assembly, East Midlands Local Government Association, European Social Fund Objective 3, Northants Chamber of Commerce 11 per cent of 1 staff year 
			 West Midlands Planning Stage Advantage West Midlands *Advantage West Midlands, European Social Fund Objective 2, European Union Framework 6 20 per cent of 1 staff year 
			 East of England Operational as East of England Observatory East of England Development Agency, Government Office for the East of England, County Local Economic Partnerships, Local Govt Conference, Eastern Region Public Health Observatory East of England Development Agency, Regional Innovation Fund 9 per cent of 1 staff year 
			 London Not operational Greater London Authority None as yet Minimal 
			 South East Not operational Government Office of the South East, South East England Development Agency, Regional Assembly None as yet 10 per cent of 1 staff year 
			 South West Under Development South West Regional Assembly, South West Regional Development Agency, Department of Health, GOSW, Environment Agency, SW Higher Education Regional Development Association South West Regional Development Agency, Department of Health, Environment Agency, South West Regional Assembly 7 per cent of 1 staff year 
		
	
	*Proposed Funding.

Overseas Visits

John Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many people will accompany him at public expense on his forthcoming trip to Bali; and what the total cost of the visit will be.

John Prescott: I will not attend the Bali Preparatory Conference and have never intended to. This is a matter for the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs who will lead the delegation in the normal way as I explained to the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale at Cabinet Office questions on 22 May, Official Report, column 282.
	The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs estimated the cost of the UK delegation to be approximately 180,000, inclusive of air fares, hotel rooms, subsistence and office accommodation. This figure represents less than half of the total cost incurred in responding to questions tabled by the hon. Member since the 2001 election.

Legislation

Alex Salmond: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the Government's policy is on when it is appropriate for it publicly to consult on potential changes in legislation; and if he will make a statement.

Christopher Leslie: Other than statutory requirements, it is for individual government departments and agencies to decide when it is appropriate for them publicly to consult on potential changes to legislation. The Cabinet Office encourages departments undertaking public consultations to follow the principles set out in the Code of Practice on Written Consultation.

Correspondence

Tony Clarke: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will publish figures showing (a) the volume of correspondence received by ministers and agency chief executives from hon. Members in 2001, (b) the target times set for replies and (c) the number of replies sent within target times.

Christopher Leslie: The attached table sets out Departments' and Agencies' performance in handling hon. Members' correspondence during the 2001 calendar year. It also sets out comparative figures for 2000 (first published on 6 April 2001, Official Report, columns 324W327W). I am pleased to report that the table continues to show a steady improvement in overall performance.
	The footnotes to the table provide general background information on how the figures have been compiled.
	
		Correspondence from MPs to Ministers and Agency Chief Executives(5)
		
			  2000 2001 
			  Department or Agency Target set for reply (working  days) Number of letters received per cent  of replies  within  target Target set  for reply  (working  days) Number of  letters  received per cent  of replies  within  target 
		
		
			 Cabinet Office 15 902 88 15 599 90 
			 Leader of the House of Lord's Office(6)15 53 80 
			 Crown Prosecution Service(7) 15 18 100 15 97 94 
			 Department for Culture, Media and Sport 18 3,240 82 18 4,416 90 
			 HM Customs and Excise(8) 18 2,977 68 18 2,452 62 
			 Ministry of Defence(9) 15 4,592 78 15 5,350 85 
			 Army Personnel Centre 15 38 95 15 34 97 
			 DERA 15 21 91
			 Meteorological Office 15 16 94 15 20 80 
			 Pay  Personnel Agency 10 31 43
			 War Pensions Agency(10) 20 395 99 20 279 99 
			 Department for Education and Skills(11) 15 22,318 72 15 18,237 76 
			 Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs(12) 15 6,137 30 15 9,905 34 
			 Foreign and Commonwealth Office 20 9,020 78 20 10,275 79 
			 Joint Entry Clearance Unit15 8,276 78 
			 Department of Health 20 18,621 50 20 19,665 60 
			 Food Standards Agency20 770 70 
			 NHS Pensions Agency 15 54 85 15 65 98 
			 Medicines Control Agency 15 25 68 10 17 82 
			 Home Office(13)   
			 *Non Prison Service correspondence 15 18,748 41 15 *16,251 35 
			 **Prison Service correspondence 20 1,289 79 20(14) **1,210 78 
			 HM Prison Service 20 2,306 75 20 1,272 75 
			 UK Passport Agency 10 188 100 10 279 87 
			 Inland Revenue   
			 *All ministerial correspondence 18 5,770 72 18 *3,356 77 
			 **Replies by departmental officials 23 533 53 18(15) **382 75 
			 Valuation Office 23 240 92 23 30 90 
			 Department for International Development(16) 15 1,769 82 15 1,740 87 
			 Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers 15 204 93 15 284 96 
			 Lord Chancellor's Department 20 1,844 74 20 1,737 74 
			 Court Service(17) 20 845 66 15 591 68 
			 HM Land Registry 20 41 93 20 24 79 
			 Public Records Office 20 26 100 10 11 100 
			 Public Guardianship Office(18) 15 124 88 15 120 62 
			 Northern Ireland Office(19) 10 594 71 10 358 49 
			 Compensation Agency for NI 7 16 100 7 27 93 
			 Northern Ireland Prison Service 10 37 70 10 27 78 
			 Office for National Savings 10 154 86 15 63 62 
			 Office for National Statistics15 192 77 
			 *Letters where Chief Executive replied on Minister's behalf 10 167 79 10 154* 63 
			 President of the Council's Office 15 271 94 15 237 74 
			 Scotland Office 15 125 64 15 96 75 
			 Department for Trade and Industry(20) 10 18,858 60 10 9,260 49 
			 Companies House 10 44 100 10 50 100 
			 Employment Tribunals Service 10 30 97 15 12 100 
			 Insolvency Service(21) 10 334 87 10 292 80 
			 Patent Office 10 311 99 10 154 95 
			 Radiocommunications Agency 15 20 100 15 15 100 
			 Small Business Service(22)10 47 96 
			 Department for Transport, Local 15 19,636 69 15 14,375 84 
			 Government and the Regions(23)   
			 Driving Standards Agency 15 91 99 15 82 100 
			 DVLA 10 1,136 99 10 915 98 
			 Highways Agency 15 314 78 15 322 96 
			 Maritime and Coastguard Agency 15 19 100 15 21 95 
			 Planning Inspectorate 8 310 90 8 364 94 
			 Vehicle Inspectorate 15 13 100 15 32 94 
			 HM Treasury(24) 15 4,061 60 15 4,039 78 
			 Treasury Solicitor's Department 10 35 100 10 39 100 
			 Wales Office 15 344 42 15 91 63 
			 Department for Work and Pensions(25) 20 16,283 75 20 12,698 66 
			 Appeals Service(26)15 87 64 
			 Benefits Agency 20 2,642 45 20 2,529 90 
			 Child Support Agency(27) 18 5,806 97 20 3,293 58 
			 Employment Service(28) 15 592 98 15 520 94 
		
	
	(5)The 2000 figures are taken from the 6 April 2001, Official Report, columns 324W327W. Please refer to relevant footnotes regarding 2000 figures. Departments and Agencies who received a total of 10 letters or less from MPs during 2001 are not shown in this table.
	(6)The figures relate to correspondence until General Election and are in connection with Baroness Jay's role as Minister for Women. Correspondence after Election refers to House business only, therefore, information on that is not included.
	(7)Letters in 2001 addressed to the Law Officers, but subsequently replied to by the Director of Public Prosecutions. In addition the CPS received 480 letters direct from MPs in 2001. 92 per cent replied to within 15 working days.
	(8)Includes all Ministerial replies, not only replies to letters from MPs.
	(9)Figures include correspondence from Members of Devolved Legislatures, MEPs and Peers.
	(10)Agency transferred across from the former Department of Social Security with effect from 11 June 2001.
	(11)2000 figures are for the Department for Education and Employment. 2001 figures reflect machinery of government changes at the General Election, include figures for former Department for Education and Employment.
	(12)2000 figures are for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. 2001 figures reflect machinery of government changes at the General Election, include figures for former Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. Progress to improve MAFF/DEFRA's performance on correspondence in 2001 was severely hindered by the foot and mouth disease crisis, as well as convergence issues arising from the creation of the new Department. DEFRA's performance is now much improved, with most letters receiving responses within a month of receipt, and around 50 per cent of responses currently issuing within the Departmental target of 15 working days.
	(13)Home Office is aware of the poor performance in 2001, however, the Home Secretary is taking the necessary steps to improve performance in 2002. This has had a positive impact on the performance for the first quarter of this year.
	(14)The 20 working day target takes account of particular geographical circumstances. The target is the same whether replies are sent by Minister or by the Director General.
	(15)Target has been reduced from 23 days to 18.
	(16)If replies to letters about the Afghanistan crisis were excluded (SeptDec) overall per cent of replies within targets would be 92 per cent.
	(17)Letters signed by the Agency Chief Executive of the Court Service, whether received direct or transferred from Ministers.
	(18)Formerly the Public Trust Office, re-named as the PGO with effect from 1 April 2001.
	(19)Reflects the impact of devolution and requirements for consultation with outside agencies.
	(20)2001 figures reflect correspondence from MPs only. 2000 figures reflect all Ministerial correspondence. DTI aware of poor performance in 2001 and are currently reviewing their correspondence handling system.
	(21)94 per cent of letters were answered within agreed extended deadlines.
	(22)Response time recorded for 32 of letters received. No response time recorded for 15 letters.
	(23)2000 figures are for the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions. 2001 figures reflect machinery of government changes at the General Election, include figures for former Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions.
	(24)Includes all Ministerial replies, not only replies to letters from MPs.
	(25)2000 figures are for the Department of Social Security. 2001 figures reflect machinery of government changes at the General Election, include figures for former Department of Social Security. In the period from June 2001, following the introduction of the Department for Work and Pensions, the average response time was reduced from 18 to 15 working days and 71 per cent of the replies were sent within target.
	(26)The average handling time, which covers all letters, was 14 working days. For the second half of the period 1 June to 31 December the percentage of replies within the target rose to 82 per cent.
	(27)The average handling time which covers all letters was 21 working days. CSA has now changed its complaints handling process. Senior managers are more responsible for the timeliness and quality of responses. The role of the Parliamentary Correspondence Unit has been changed to an active performance management and escalation function reporting directly to the Chief Executive.
	(28)An Agency of DWP following machinery of government changes at the General Election. 2001 figures also include letters received when an Agency of the former Department for Education and Employment.

Special Advisers

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  how many written submissions the Special Advisers Remuneration Committee has received from Cabinet ministers asking for a special adviser to be appointed on a point scale above the lowest point scale of each of the special adviser pay bands since 2 May 1997;
	(2)  how many times the Special Advisers Remuneration Committee has met since 2 May 1997.

John Prescott: Information relating to internal meetings and advice is not provided under exemption 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Special Advisers

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister who the members are of the Special Advisers Remuneration Committee.

John Prescott: My noble Friend, Lord Williams, the Leader of the House of Lords chairs the Special Advisers Remuneration Committee. The other members of the Committee are the Minister for the Cabinet Office and the Economic Secretary. The Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Office attends meetings of the Committee as an observer to offer an Accounting Officer perspective.

Special Advisers

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  how many special advisers fall into Band (a) A, (b) B and (c) C of the special adviser pay system;
	(2)  what the equivalent Civil Service grade is of a special adviser on (a) Band A, (b) Band B and (c) Band C of the special advisers' pay system.

John Prescott: As the Government has already announced, the previous Special Adviser Pay Bands of A, B and C were superseded from June 2001 by a new pay system, based on individual job evaluation. A description of this pay system is in the House Library. The process of individual job evaluation is still under way. Information on the outcome of this process will be provided once it is completed. There is no direct comparison between Civil Service grades and Special Adviser posts as roles and responsibilities are different.

Government Car and Despatch Agency

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what performance targets he has set for the Government Car and Despatch Agency for 200203.

Christopher Leslie: I have set the Government Car and Despatch Agency the following key performance targets for the financial year, 200203.
	Financial:
	to achieve break even on an accruals basis.
	Quality of Service:
	to maintain customer satisfaction index at the out-turn level for 200102
	to evaluate customer dissatisfaction against a new benchmark established in March 2002 and review statistical reliability of the measure.
	Environment:
	to convert to alternative environmentally friendly fuels 75 per cent of the cars purchased in the year and capable of such conversion.
	to develop a new environmental target to operate from 200304 based on reducing Carbon Dioxide emissions from the GCDA fleet.

Departmental Sponsors

Michael Weir: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  which hon. Members have been appointed as sponsors to his Department since 7 June 2001; and when each of them were appointed;
	(2)  what the duties are of hon. Members appointed as sponsors to his Department; and what assistance is given by officials in his Department to them in carrying out these duties.

Christopher Leslie: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed on 22 May, Official Report, column 337W.

Press Releases

Pete Wishart: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  how many press releases were issued by his Department in each month between May and December 1997;
	(2)  how many press releases have been issued by his Department in each month of 2002.

Christopher Leslie: The number of press releases issued by the Cabinet Office for each month to date in 2002 is as follows:
	
		
			 Date No. 
		
		
			 January 2002 5 
			 February 2002 13 
			 March 2002 8 
			 April 2002 4 
			 To 22 May 2002 5 
		
	
	The number of press releases issued each month between May and December 1997 inclusive are listed follows:
	
		
			 Date No. 
		
		
			 May 1997 15 
			 June 1997 13 
			 July 1997 21 
			 August 1997 5 
			 September 1997 9 
			 October 1997 12 
			 November 1997 22 
			 December 1997 7 
		
	
	The figures provided above for both 1997 and 2002 do not include operational notes/invitations, but do include Privy Council Office press releases which are issued on its behalf by the Cabinet Office press office.
	Lists and copies of Cabinet Office press releases are available on its public Internet website.

HEALTH

Agency Staff

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent by each acute trust on agency staff excluding doctors and nurses (a) in cash terms, (b) as a proportion of the annual expenditure on doctors salaries and (c) as a proportion of the total operating expenses, in each of the last five years for which records are available.

John Hutton: Information in the format requested is not held centrally.

Post-Operative Home Visits

Colin Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many post-operative home visits were made to patients in settlements with under 3,000 people in (a) 1999, (b) 2000 and (c) 2001.

John Hutton: holding answer 15 April 2002
	These statistics are not held centrally.
	Primary care trusts have the responsibility for assessing the needs of their local populations and ensuring provision of health care to meet those needs. This includes post-operative care.
	An increase in day surgery, often to improve the patient's experience, has required changes in the design of services along the patients care pathway. Immediate post-operative care is often now being provided within the patient's home.

Health Funding System

Dave Watts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the level of salaries that are being paid to overseas doctors and nurses who are recruited through agencies; if he will make a statement on his Department's review of the health funding system; if the new funding system will target funds in areas of poor health; and if it will take into account (a) the number of people in each area who have access to private medical care and (b) the early death rates in areas with high levels of deprivation.

John Hutton: Doctors and nurses recruited through international recruitment exercises should be paid in accordance with existing National Health Service pay arrangements.
	We allocate funding to health authorities and primary care trusts on the basis of the relative needs of their populations. A wide-ranging review of the weighted capitation formula used to allocate resources is currently taking place. A key criterion of the new formula will be to contribute to the reduction of avoidable health inequalities.
	It is too soon to predict the outcome of the review. However, the intention is that following the review, the new formula will be ready for 200304 allocations. Disability Facilities

Health Funding System

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what impact he expects the budget announcement on health and social services spending to have on waiting time for disability facilities grants.

Jacqui Smith: The extra cash will help to bring on line the extra capacity that the National Health Service needs to make care better and faster for patients. We would not expect a direct impact on disabled facilities grants because these are mandatory grants provided by housing departments with part funding by the Department for Transport, Local Government, and the Regions.

Health Funding System

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answer of 2 May 2002, Official Report, column 994W, on disability facilities, if the provision of walk-in showers is included in the national project; and if he will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: The provision of walk-in showers requires building work of a permanent and substantial nature, and these are usually arranged by councils' housing departments. Such major adaptations are often facilitated through disabled facilities grants. They are usually beyond the scope of equipment services, and so housing departments are outside the remit of the project to integrate community equipment services. When statutory services decide what to provide, the guiding principle should be to meet individually assessed needs. Information For Health Strategy

Health Funding System

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 11 March, Official Report, column 806W, on information for health strategy, what assessment he has made of the report by Professor Protti on the Information for Health Strategy; and if he will place a copy of the report in the Library.

John Hutton: The report from Professor Protti is still under consideration. It is informing the preparation of the delivery plan for information and information technology that the Department is preparing as part of taking forward Delivering the NHS Plan, published in April 2002. Professor Protti's report will be put in the public domain after our delivery plan for information and IT has been announced later in the year.

Primary Care Facilities

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the connection between the level of deprivation in an area and the quality of its primary care facilities.

John Hutton: Reducing health inequalities is a key Government priority. It is widely recognised that primary care facilities in relatively deprived localities are generally poorer than elsewhere. We are addressing this by targeting resources and management capacity through the National Health Service resource allocation formula, additional specific funding for general practitioners' premises and the NHS local investment finance trust initiative. Acute Psychiatric Beds

Primary Care Facilities

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many acute psychiatric beds were available for (a) children, (b) the elderly and (c) other ages in secure units within the Newcastle and North Tyneside Health Authority Area in (i) 199697 and (ii) the most recent available period; what the occupancy rate was; and what delayed discharge issues occurred.

Jacqui Smith: Data are not collected in the format requested. Information on beds in wards designated as mental illness short stay/secure is given in the table.
	
		Average daily number of available and occupied beds in Acute Mental Illness-wards, for NHS Trusts in Newcastle  North Tyneside Health Authority area, 200001 and 199697
		
			   200001  
			  Available beds Occupied beds % occupancy 
		
		
			 Newcastle City Health NHS Trust
			 Mental IllnessChildrenshort stay 19 11 60.9 
			 Mental IllnessElderlyshort stay 62 50 80.1 
			 Mental IllnessSecure unitother ages 37 32 87.8 
			 Mental Illnessother agesshort stay 169 162 95.6 
			 Total Acute Mental Illness beds for NHS Trusts in Newcastle  North Tyneside Health Authority area, 200001 287 255 89.0  
			   199697  
			  Available beds Occupied beds % 
			 occupancy 
			 Newcastle City Health NHS Trust
			 Mental IllnessChildrenshort stay 23 16 71.0 
			 Mental IllnessElderlyshort stay 68 47 69.3 
			 Mental IllnessSecure unitother ages 31 29 92.8 
			 Mental Illnessother agesshort stay 192 172 89.4 
			 North Tyneside Health Care NHS Trust
			 Mental IllnessElderlyshort stay 33 24 73.3 
			 Total Acute Mental Illness beds for NHS Trusts in Newcastle  North Tyneside 
			 Health Authority area, 199697 347 288 83.0 
		
	
	Source
	KH03Bed availability and occupancy.
	Notes
	1. The figures shown in the table are not a true reflection of beds in the Newcastle and North Tyneside Health Authority area as in its area it may contain hospitals that come under a different NHS Trust whose main site may fall into a different health authority.
	2. The mental health services provided by Newcastle City Health and Northumberland Mental Health Trust merged on the 1 April 2001, to form Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland Mental Health NHS Trust.
	3. North Tyneside Health Care NHS Trust does not appear for 200001 as it merged in 1998 with Northumberland Community Health and Cheviot and Wansbeck to form Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust. The main site for the newly formed NHS Trust falls into another Health Authority.

NHS Pension Scheme

Gisela Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take into account when calculating widowers' pensions for women doctors in the NHS Pension Scheme their service since 25 March 1972.

John Hutton: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to the former Member for North Norfolk (Mr. Prior) on 13 January 1999, Official Report, column 2.

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assistance has been given to research into myalgic encephalomyelitis since 1997;
	(2)  what (a) medical, (b) welfare and (c) benefit provisions are made for those suffering from myalgic encephalomyelitis;
	(3)  what plans he has for a comprehensive epidemiological study into myalgic encephalomyelitis.

Jacqui Smith: Since 1997 the Department of Health and Medical Research Council (MRC) invested approximately 370,000 on research projects relevant to myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS/ME).
	In addition to specific projects, the Department provides support for research commissioned by charities and the research councils that takes place in the National Health Service. Management of much of the research supported by NHS research  development funding is devolved and expenditure at project level is not held centrally by the Department. The total investment is considerably greater than the spend on directly commissioned projects.
	There are currently no plans to commission a national epidemiology study. The Department has asked the MRC to develop a broad strategy for advancing biomedical and health services research on CFS/ME.
	It is the role of primary care trusts, to decide what services to provide for their populations including those with CFS/ME. They are best placed to understand local health needs and commission services to meet them. Section 2 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 places local authorities under a duty to arrange services for individual disabled people where they are satisfied that they are necessary to meet the person's needs. The services concerned include practical assistance in the home; recreational facilities; assistance in travelling to services; assistance in arranging adaptations to the home, or the provision of additional facilities designed to secure greater safety, comfort or convenience; facilitating the taking of holidays; the provision of meals and the provision of a telephone and any special equipment necessary to enable the disabled person to use it.
	Entitlement to benefit is not dependent on a claimant having any particular diagnosis but the resulting care and mobility needs in the case of Disability Living Allowance or its effects on the person's ability to perform prescribed work-related function in the Personal Capability Assessment for incapacity benefits. Where a clinical diagnosis of CFS/ME has been made full account will be taken of its disabling effects.

General Practitioners

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what he estimates will be the average cost to general practitioners of opting out of 24-hour responsibility.

John Hutton: This will be addressed as part of the process for pricing the new general practitioner contract.

Waiting Times

Ann Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the waiting list times are for (a) CT scans, (b) MRI scans, (c) angiograms and (d) radiotherapy in each NHS trust in England and Wales at the latest date for which figures are available.

John Hutton: We do not collect data on waiting times for computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, angiograms or radiotherapy. However we are taking action to improve access to services by investing in a programme of upgrading and expansion of diagnostic and therapeutic equipment, as well as in staff training and streamlining of care processes.
	The NHS Cancer Plan targets for waits from urgent general practitioner referral to first treatment cover the diagnostic phase of treatment and for some patients this will involve CT and/or MRI scans. The targets are to meet this standard for breast cancer by the end of 2002 and for all cancers by 2005. We are currently putting in place data collection mechanisms to show performance against this target.

Waiting Times

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have waited over (a) 12 months and (b) 15 months for an operation in Hull and the East Riding.

Jacqui Smith: As at March 2002, 303 people in East Riding and Hull were waiting over 12 months for an operation, no one has been waiting over 15 months.

Intermediate Care Beds

Colin Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 16 April 2002, Official Report, column 926W, on community hospitals, how much will be spent on establishing the 5,000 intermediate care beds by 2004; and what proportion of funding and beds will be allocated to rural areas.

Jacqui Smith: The NHS Plan announced an extra 900 million annually by 200304 for new intermediate care and related services to promote independence and improve quality of care for older people, together with targets for additional intermediate care beds and non-residential places and the number of people to benefit.
	Full details are in the intermediate care circular HSC 200101:LAC (2001)1 published in January last year. Copies are available in the Library.
	The proportion of funding and additional intermediate care services that will be allocated to rural areas is not known.

Overseas Doctors

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if it is mandatory for general practitioners from the Commonwealth coming to the UK to spend six months as a registrar; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: There is no mandatory requirement in law for general practitioners coming to this country from the Commonwealth to spend time in training as a general practitioner registrar.
	Doctors wanting to practise as a GP in the United Kingdom must meet the standard of being suitably experienced required by the NHS Act 1977. The joint committee on postgraduate training for general practice (JCPTGP), currently has the responsibility of assessing incoming doctors to see if they are in fact suitably experienced and issuing a certificate to those who are. We are aware that the JCPTGP invariably requires doctors from the Commonwealth to undertake training in the UK before issuing a certificate.
	We announced in the NHS Plan that we would replace the JCPTGP and the specialist training authority, the parallel body for hospital doctors, with a new body to be known as the postgraduate medical education and training board. We will also introduce for the first time a GP register, and it will become a requirement to be registered, instead of being suitably experienced, before practising as a GP in the National Health Service in the UK.

DXA Scanners

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many DXA scanners there are in (a) Hull and the East Riding and (b) England and Wales;
	(2)  what plans his Department has for the purchase of new DXA scanners.

Jacqui Smith: Decisions about the purchase of dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scanners are made by NHS trusts in the light of local needs and priorities.
	Information about the number of DXA scanners is not available centrally. Information relating to Wales is a matter for the National Assembly for Wales.

DXA Scanners

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many DXA scans have been completed in Hull and the East Riding since 1 January 2001.

Jacqui Smith: Since the 1 January 2001, a total of 9223 dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans have been completed in Hull and the East Riding.

Osteoporosis

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if the (a) East Yorkshire Primary Care Trust and (b) West Hull Primary Care Trust have a strategy for osteoporosis management.

Jacqui Smith: Yes, both the East Yorkshire Primary Care Trust and West Hull Primary Care Trust are represented on an East Riding and Hull-wide Osteoporosis Strategy Group and have in place strategies for osteoporosis management.

Osteoporosis

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many beds were blocked as a result of osteoporotic hip fractures in (a) Hull and the East Riding and (b) England and Wales in the last two quarters for which figures are available.

Jacqui Smith: The Department does not collect such information.

Osteoporosis

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many elective operations were postponed due to osteoporotic hip fractures in (a) Hull and the East Riding and (b) England and Wales in the last two quarters for which figures are available.

Jacqui Smith: Data on the number of operations postponed or cancelled due to osteoporotic hip fractures are not available.
	Data on the number of operations cancelled by the hospital for non-clinical reasons on, or after, the day the patient was due to be admitted are available in the Library.

Osteoporosis

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what percentage of patients on 7.5 mg of corticosteroids for over six months are on osteoporotic preventive therapy in (a) Hull and the East Riding and (b) England and Wales;
	(2)  how many primary care trusts and groups have a strategy for osteoporosis management;
	(3)  what percentage of fracture patients aged over 50 years received an osteoporosis risk assessment in (a) Hull and the East Riding and (b) England and Wales, in the last two quarters for which figures are available.

Jacqui Smith: The information requested is not available centrally. Information relating to Wales is a matter for the National Assembly for Wales.

Osteoporosis

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many osteoporotic hip fractures there have been in (a) the East Yorkshire Primary Care Trust and (b) the West Hull Primary Care Trust since 1 January 2001.

Jacqui Smith: The information is not collected in the format requested.

National Service Framework for Older People

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what measures he has implemented to ensure standard six of the National Service Framework for Older People is met;
	(2)  what targets his Department has set in relation to standard six of the National Service Framework for Older People.

Jacqui Smith: Standard six of the national service framework for older people requires that the National Health Service working in partnership with councils, takes action to prevent falls and reduce resultant fractures or other injuries in their populations of older people. Older people who have fallen receive effective treatment and prevention and, with their cares, receive advice on prevention through a specialised falls service. It sets milestones for ensuring the delivery of this standard by:
	April 2003 local health care providers (health, social services and the independent sector) should have audited their procedures and put in place risk management procedures to reduce the risk of older people falling.
	April 2004 the Health Improvement Plan, and other relevant local plans developed with local authority and independent sector partners, should include the development of an integrated falls service.
	April 2005 all local health and social care systems should have established this service.
	Detailed work with professional and voluntary bodies is taking place that will support delivery of these milestones and action is being taken piloting and mapping approaches to improved service delivery and local service and community collaborations. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence has begun work to prepare clinical guidelines for the NHS in England and Wales for the assessment and prevention of falls including recurrent falls in older people.

Primary Care Trusts

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the prescribing budget is of the (a) East Yorkshire Primary Care Trust and (b) West Hull Primary Care Trust.

Jacqui Smith: The current prescribing budgets allocated to general practice in the East Yorkshire and West Hull Primary Care Trust's is 18.8 million and 20.3 million respectively.

Primary Care Trusts

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the level of financial deficit is for the (a) East Yorkshire Primary Care Trust and (b) the West Hull Primary Care Trust.

Jacqui Smith: East Yorkshire Primary Care Trust currently have expenditure plans which exceed income by 1 million but are expecting to achieve financial balance by the end of the financial year.
	West Hull Primary Care Trust currently have expenditure plans which exceed income by 0.5 million but are expecting to achieve financial balance by the end of the financial year.

Primary Care Trusts

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list each body which has been given funding to deliver the teaching PCT objectives, together with the sum involved in each case.

John Hutton: The following primary care trusts (PCTs) have been approved in principle to become teaching PCTs from April 2003:
	Bournemouth
	City  Hackney
	Coventry
	Eastern Hull and West Hull (joint bid)
	Greenwich
	Merseyside (confederation of Bebington  West Wirral, Birkenhead and Wallasey, Central Liverpool, Knowsley, North Liverpool, South Liverpool, South Sefton, Southport  Formby, and St Helens)
	North Peterborough Confederation (North Peterborough, South Peterborough and Fenland)
	Plymouth
	Portsmouth  City
	South Stoke and North Stoke (joint bid)
	Walsall
	Each of these eleven has been given 20,000 development money in 200203.

Primary Care Trusts

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what resources have been given directly to each teaching PCT for their work as teaching PCTs in 200203.

John Hutton: The following primary care trusts (PCTs) have received funding in 200203, as detailed, for their work as teaching PCTs:
	
		
			 Teaching PCT 000s 
		
		
			 First wave  
			 Bradford City 516 
			 Salford 516 
			 Sunderland West 516 
			 Second wave  
			 Blackburn  Darwin 300 
			 North Tees 300 
			 Haringey 300 
			 Lincolnshire South West 300 
			 Luton 250 
			 Slough 250 
			 Bristol North  South 249 
			 Heart of Birmingham 247

Primary Care Trusts

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which primary care trusts have been given teaching PCT status.

John Hutton: The following primary care trusts have been given teaching primary care trust status:
	First wave, from April 2001
	Bradford City
	Salford
	Sunderland West
	Second wave, from April 2002
	Blackburn  Darwen
	Bristol North and Bristol South  West (joint bid)
	Haringey
	Heart of Birmingham
	Lincolnshire South West
	Luton
	North Tees
	Slough

Lung Cancer

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of people in England diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer received (a) surgery, (b) chemotherapy and (c) palliative care only in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Yvette Cooper: The Department does not collect information in the form requested. Information on hospital episodes for lung cancer is available at: http://www.doh.gov.uk/hes/standarddata/availabletables/primarydiagnosis/tb01200a.pdf

Myalgic Encephalitis

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many myalgic encephalitis specialist neurologists work in the NHS in each region of England.

Jacqui Smith: Information about myalgic encaphalitis specialist neurologists is not collected. Information about the number of consultant neurologists is shown in the table.
	
		Hospital medical consultants within the Neurology specialty by region
		
			 As at 30 September 2001 numbers 
		
		
			 England 359 
			 Northern and Yorkshire 42 
			 Trent 22 
			 West Midlands 22 
			 North West 40 
			 Eastern 29 
			 London 136 
			 South East 60 
			 South Western 25 
		
	
	Source
	Department of Health medical and dental workforce census.
	Notes
	Where regions are shown, staff holding appointments in more than one region are included separately in each region. The sum of regional totals therefore differs slightly from the England total and a direct comparison is not advised.

Nurses

John Lyons: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses are employed in the NHS; and how many there were in 1997.

John Hutton: Workforce information is collected annually as at 30 September. In 1997 there were 318,860 nurses employed in the National Health Service. In 2001 there were 350,380, an increase of 31,520 (9.9 per cent).

Nurses

John Lyons: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses are training; and how many were training in 1997.

John Hutton: Latest figures show over 60,800 nursing and midwifery students being trained compared to nearly 36,377 in 199697, a 67 per cent increase.

Nurses

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action is being taken to expedite the registration of recently trained nurses.

John Hutton: The registration of nurses, midwives and health visitors is a matter for the Nursing and Midwifery Council. The new council, which was established on 1 April 2002, is concerned to ensure that registration is completed quickly and is looking at ways in which the current registration processes can be made more efficient.

Obesity

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what research he has commissioned into the use of sport and exercise in tackling obesity;
	(2)  what he is doing to promote sport and exercise for health purposes; and if he will make a statement on the role of sport and exercise in tackling obesity.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 21 May 2002
	Both physical activity and eating habits play a role in overweight and obesity. We have put in place major cross Government programmes of work to improve access to opportunities to participate in a wide range of physical and sporting activities. This includes 581 million from the New Opportunities Fund for a physical education and sports programme. We recently announced the launch of a new 2.5 million programme on access to physical activity, which is being developed with Sport England and the Countryside Agency. The work forms part of a partnership between the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Department of Education and Skills and the Department of Health.
	This programme will support local strategies on promoting physical activity and reducing overweight and obesity which are already being developed as part of the national service framework for coronary heart disease.
	The National Audit Office report Tackling Obesity in England, published last year, looked into the prevalence and costs of obesity, and the causes of the problem. The report highlighted that changes in eating patterns and increasingly sedentary lifestyles are the main reasons for the rising trend in obesity.
	There is on-going research of 1.1 million via the health technology assessment programme. This includes evaluation of randomised trials on exercise, exercise referral schemes and the cost-effectiveness of supervised exercise programmes in patient management.

Care Homes (Lancashire)

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will ask the Social Services Department to undertake a review of Lancashire County Council's proposals to reduce the number of residential care homes, taking into account the responses of the county council's consultation on the issue.

Jacqui Smith: The social services inspectorate is closely monitoring Lancashire County Council's proposals to assess its future care provision, to close some of its care homes and to consult on future strategies. I understand that the Council is reviewing its approach to the proposed closures and intends to hold a further series of meetings with residents and their relatives and other interested parties.

Arts Prosthotists

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many arts prosthotists there are per head of population in each of the National Health Service trust areas in England.

John Hutton: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Directors of Public Health

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many PCTs have (a) appointed and (b) not appointed a Director of Public Health.

John Hutton: holding answer 22 May 2002
	Of the 302 primary care trusts and one care trust in England, 186 have a director of public health (DPH). Of those DPHs, 24 posts are in an acting capacity and five PCTs are sharing a director. The remaining 117 PCTs are in the process of appointing a director of public health.

Donor Cards

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proposals his Department has to promote the carrying of donor cards.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 22 May
	The Department has a public information campaign with a current annual budget of 900,000 which funds a number of wide-ranging initiatives in England to raise the public's awareness of the shortage of organs for transplantation and to promote organ donor registration. A public information leaflet, incorporating the organ donor card is widely distributed, and is also available through the organ donor literature line. The campaign secures free TV airtime for short public information films, maintains a campaign website and has partnership arrangements with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, the Passport Agency, Rotarian Clubs, Boots the Chemist and with some banks who have chosen to support organ donation.
	The Department runs a special campaign to raise awareness among members of the Asian community and a similar campaign targeting the African and African-Caribbean communities has recently been launched. These campaigns include public information leaflets and targeted advertising.
	The Department also helps raise awareness by funding the work of some voluntary organisations through the Section 64 grant scheme. This includes funding for the British transplant games to be held in August 2002.

Free Continuing Care

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he intends to issue guidance to strategic health authorities, primary care trusts and local authorities on the resolution of disputes regarding assessment for free continuing care and registered nursing care, following Cowl v Plymouth City Council, CA 14 December 2001 and the new Pre-Action Protocol of the Adminstrative Court.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 23 May
	HSC 2001015:LAC (2001)18 gives guidance on the existing procedure for continuing care review panels and extends the remit of those panels to other decisions regarding the National Health Service funded element of any care package. There is no intention to alter that guidance because of Cowl v Plymouth County Council or pre-action protocols.

Free Continuing Care

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place the eligibility criteria for free continuing care adopted by each strategic health authority as from 1 April in the Library.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 23 May 2002
	Eligibility criteria for continuing national health service care are not held centrally by the Department.

Chiropody

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what action his Department has taken following the review of NHS provision of chiropody and podiatry services;
	(2)  when he intends to publish the review of chiropody services (Feet First II); and if he will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 23 May 2002
	Meeting the Challenge: A Strategy for the Allied Health Professions'', published on 15 November 2000, raises the profile of chiropody and podiatry services alongside other allied health professions, and we have no current plans to publish the outcomes of the review of the Feet First.
	The NHS Plan commits us to increasing the number of allied health professionals working in the National Health Service, which include chiropodists/podiatrists, by more than 6,500 by 2004. In the 2002 Budget we will build on the 6,500 target and by 2008 we expect the NHS to have net increases over the September 2001 staff census of at least 30,000 therapists and scientists.
	We are also committed to reducing waiting times for treatment for vulnerable groups like children and older people. The NHS Plan gives us a target to reduce the maximum waiting time for any stage of treatment to three months. Providing we can recruit the extra staff, and the NHS makes the necessary reforms, we aim to achieve that target by the end of 2008.

Locum Doctors

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many locum doctors worked in NHS trusts on average per day in the last 12 months.

John Hutton: Data on locums is not collected centrally.

Recruitment and Retention

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answer given to the hon. Member for Workington (Tony Cunningham) on 26 April, Official Report, column 520W, on recruitment and retention, how many NHS consultants there were in the NHS in each year since 1995.

John Hutton: The information requested is shown in the table. There has been an increase of over 32 per cent in the number of consultants working in the National Health Service between 1995 and 2001.
	
		Hospital, Public Health Medicine, and Community Health Service, (HCHS) medical and dental consultants
		
			 England at 30 September Numbers 
		
		
			 2001 25,690 
			 2000 24,310 
			 1999 23,220 
			 1998 22,220 
			 1997 21,370 
			 1996 20,300 
			 1995 19,420 
		
	
	Source
	Department of Health medical and dental workforce census.

Asthma

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent research his Department has conducted into the causes and significance of asthma;
	(2)  how much funding his Department has allocated to charities and industry for research into the causes and curing of asthma.

Jacqui Smith: The main Government agency for research into the causes of and treatments for disease is the Medical Research Council (MRC), which receives its funding via the Department of Trade and Industry. The MRC spent an estimated 12.2 million in 19992000 on research into asthma and respiratory disorders.
	The Department is funding a programme of research on the public health aspects of asthma, aimed at providing a clearer scientific understanding of the causes of asthma and hence how it might be prevented. The Department is also funding a programme of research on asthma management and a range of other research in relation to the treatment of, and services for, people with asthma.
	Details of projects referred to above and other projects supported through the National Health Service research and development levy can be found on the national research register (NRR) at: www.doh.gov.uk/ research.nrr/htm. The NRR contains many details of projects/trials funded by the research councils and other funders.
	The Department does not allocate funds directly to charities and industry for research. The Department funds research to support policy and the delivery of effective practice in the National Health Service. Research funds are provided to research contractor on the basis of individual proposals. The Department also provides support to NHS trusts to allow work funded by others such as the research councils, charities and other funders to be conducted within the NHS.

Agency Nurses

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of hospital nursing staff have been provided by private agencies in each of the last five years.

John Hutton: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Mortuary Services

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what financial arrangements exist between NHS trusts and coroners for provision of mortuary services;
	(2)  which NHS mortuaries levy charges for their services;
	(3)  if he will list those NHS trusts which operate public mortuaries;
	(4)  what the level of investment is for NHS mortuaries;
	(5)  when the responsibility of NHS hospital trusts to provide accommodation for people who die in hospital will end and that of the coroner or undertaker begin;
	(6)  what his policy is on NHS mortuaries levying charges to the public.

John Hutton: When a patient dies in a National Health Service (NHS) hospital, the hospital is responsible for the care of the body until that responsibility can be transferred, either to the executors or administrators or other persons with the duty of disposing of the body, or to the coroner. The NHS does not charge the public for this care.
	We do not hold separate information on the level of investment in NHS mortuaries, which are funded through the general allocation to the NHS. Public mortuaries are run and financed by local authorities. Such mortuaries, therefore, are not operated by the NHS.
	The Coroner Service is funded through local authorities. Local authorities pay NHS trusts for the use of mortuaries to store bodies until coronial enquiries are complete, although in some cases local coroners manage these financial arrangements directly.

Parliamentary Questions

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham will receive answers to his Questions, Refs 42261, 42328, 42312, 42313 tabled for answer on 11 March.

Hazel Blears: The hon. Member's Parliamentary Questions were replied to as follows:
	42261Wednesday 22 May
	42328Thursday 23 May
	42312Wednesday 22 May
	42313Wednesday 15 May

Neurology and Limb Centres

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what extra funding is being given to neurology and limb centres to offer increased physiotherapy and occupational therapy to treat patients with brachial plexus nerve injury;
	(2)  how many neurology and limb centres offer physiotherapy and occupational therapy to patients with brachial plexus neuropathy.

Jacqui Smith: Substantial extra funding is being made available to the National Health Service. Ministers, however, do not decide on the configuration of local services and whether money should be allocated to particular diagnoses. That is a matter for local primary care trusts and other commissioners as they are best placed to know the health needs of their local populations.
	Information on the specific conditions/diagnosis within local services is not held centrally.

Midwives

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many midwives have left the NHS in each of the last five years on account of (a) normal retirement age, (b) early retirement, (c) ill health, (d) transfer to other NHS posts and (e) other causes.

John Hutton: The information requested is not collected centrally.
	The Department's non-medical workforce census records the net change in the number of midwives employed in the National Health Service. There were 700 more midwives working in the NHS at September 2001 than there were in September 1997.

Matrons

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many of the new NHS matrons announced previously worked in the NHS; and at what grades.

John Hutton: Guidance issued to the National Health Service in April 2001 (HSC 200010) indicated that modern matron posts should be graded using the existing clinical grading structure. The great majority of appointments will have been made from within trusts. However, information on individual posts is not available.

Committee Mandates

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the mandate of the Committee overseeing the conditions governing imports of agricultural products originating in third countries following the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power station is; how many times it has met over the last 12 months; what the UK representation on it is; what the annual cost of its work is to public funds; if he will list the items currently under its consideration; if he will take steps to increase its accountability and transparency to Parliament; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: The mandate of this comitology committee is to advise the European Commission on measures needed to control agricultural products originating in third countries affected by fallout from the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power station. Full details are set out in Article 7 of Council Regulation (EEC). No 737/90 of 22 March 1990. The committee has not met in the last 12 months and it is not currently considering any issues. United Kingdom representation on the committee is usually by an official from the Food Standards Agency. The outcome of meetings is usually disseminated within the UK by means of a letter to interested parties. The cost of the committee to public funds is limited to direct costs incurred in attending meetings and any necessary preparation time.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Defence Scientific Advisory Council

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he has taken to inform the Defence Scientific Advisory Council of the (a) training objectives developed by all users of plastic baton rounds to achieve ACPO/MOD policy on the use of the L21A1 baton round and (b) changes made in the operational use of the L104 riot gun and sight and in the construction of the baton (i) cartridge and (ii) gun.

John Denham: I have been asked to reply.
	The Defence Scientific Advisory Council has been informed of the training arrangements adopted by all users to ensure compliance with The Association of Chief Police Officers/Ministry of Defence (ACPO/MOD) policy on the use of the L21A1 baton round and of changes made in the ACPO guidance covering the operational use of the L21A1 round. There have been no changes made in the construction of the baton round cartridge or gun.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Parliamentary Questions

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to reply to questions (a) 38783, (b) 38780, (c) 38781 and (d) 38778 tabled in relation to the incident of the Yarl's Wood Removal Centre.

Angela Eagle: I replied to the questions to which the hon. Member refers on the following dates:
	(a) 19 March 2002,
	(b) 21 March 2002,
	(c) 3 April 2002 and
	(d) 7 May 2002.
	I apologise for the delay in responding.

Police Absence

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes he plans to the regulations to manage attendance in the police service.

John Denham: On 9 May 2002, the Police Negotiating Board (PNB) agreed a package of reforms to police pay and conditions of service. The PNB is the statutory negotiating body for police pay and conditions throughout the United Kingdom.
	As part of a package of reforms, the Police Advisory Board in England and Wales will, during 2002, come to an arrangement through amendments to Police Efficiency Regulations where the aim is to secure improvement in attendance, with sanctions (including the possibility of dismissal) where that fails. The arrangement will include an appropriate appeals mechanism.
	It is for Scottish Ministers to make changes to regulations governing conditions of service in Scottish police forces. Scotland has its own Police Advisory Board.
	The changes to regulations form part of a range of measures to improve and modernise police pay and conditions of service. The package agreed on 9 May 2002 will provide a modernised pay structure rewarding those at the sharp end and reducing reliance on overtime. In so doing, it both underpins the rest of the police reform programme and demonstrates the Government's commitment to invest in the police service to achieve the reforms needed and to give it the support and flexibility it requires to deliver a first-class service to the public.

Police Protection Services

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much the ring-fenced allowance is for the officers involved in diplomatic protection, surveillance, undercover and kidnap work.

John Denham: On 9 May 2002, the Police Negotiating Board (PNB) agreed a package of reforms to police pay and conditions of service. The PNB is the statutory negotiating body for police pay and conditions throughout the United Kingdom.
	The possibility of a ring-fenced allowance for officers involved in diplomatic protection, surveillance, undercover and kidnap work was an idea considered during the negotiations in the PNB when it was proposed to reduce premium rates of pay. Officers in those four areas would have been hardest hit from reductions in premium rates of pay, and, because the nature of their work requires them to stay on duty for long periods at a time, a ring-fenced allowance would have been one means of protecting their earnings. The Agreement reached on 9 May 2002 does not include any reductions to premium rates of pay, so there is no need for a ring-fenced allowance.
	The Agreement included a scheme to manage down overtime in the service. There will be a service-wide target of a 15 per cent reduction in the overtime bill over the three years from 200304. There will be local targets, taking account of force strength and effective management action already taken to manage down the overtime bill.

Child Disappearance

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what authorities are informed with regard to the disappearance of a child within the UK.

John Denham: At present, all missing person cases reported to the police should be submitted to the Police National Missing Persons Bureau (PNMPB) if the individual has been missing for 14 days or longer.
	The Home Office is currently working with key stakeholders within the area of missing persons, which includes the police and the National Missing Persons Helpline, in order to develop and implement measures to increase co-operation and information sharing between Government departments, and statutory and non-statutory agencies. A bid to the Invest to Save Budget (ISB), to put in place a new system for handling missing person cases, has been successful. This work is being taken forward by the Cross-Departmental Group on missing persons which is chaired by the Home Office.

Arranged Marriages

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action has been taken to remove from Britain the 24 men who married Sylvia Evans and Gwendoline Sharpe.

Angela Eagle: holding answer 30 April 2002
	We are actively looking into the cases of all the men who married either Sylvia Evans or Gwendoline Sharpe. These cases are being investigated and where it is appropriate removal action will be taken.

Police Funding

Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the funding available per 1,000 population for Cambridgeshire police authority, broken down into its constituent parts of (a) Home Office police grant, (b) revenue support grant, (c) national non-domestic rates, (d) Crime Fighting Fund allocations and (e) rural policing fund grants for (i) 2000 2001, (ii) 200102 and (iii) 200203.

John Denham: The information is set out in the table.
	
		
			  Police grant National non domestic rates Revenue support grant Crime Fighting fund Rural Policing grant Total 
		
		
			
			 200001 55,134 23,544 12,877 530 794 92,878 
			 200102 56,440 22,970 14,314 1,836 1,552 97,111 
			 200203(29) 56,342 25,089 11,971 2,642 1,553 97,597 
		
	
	(29)Figures for 200102 are not directly comparable with 200203 owing to the changes in funding for the National Crime Squad and the National Criminal Intelligence Service in 200203. The comparable adjusted total figure for 200102 is 94,660.
	Source for population data:
	The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy Police statistics [Estimates]. Population at June 2000 for 200001 and June 2001 for 200102 and 200203.

Young People

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what subjects and on which dates his Department has recently consulted organisations representing young people; and if he will list such organisations.

John Denham: This information is not held centrally in the manner requested and could be secured only at disproportionate cost.
	The Department is committed to the new core principles for the involvement of children and young people which was published in November 2001. The Department will shortly be publishing an action plan setting out for the first time how it will implement these principles to extend the participation of children and young people in the design, provision and evaluation of policies and services that affect them.

Millennium Stadium (Policing)

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to take account of the cost to the South Wales Police of additional policing resulting from national events at the Millennium Stadium.

John Denham: holding answer 29 April 2002
	The Chief Constable (Sir Anthony Burden QPM) requested additional financial assistance for 200203 along similar lines to his request last year for a special grant for the extra cost of policing major football events at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. My right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary (Mr. Blunkett) informed the Chief Constable on 8 May 2002 that he would make a special grant payment of 300,000 as a contribution towards the extra costs the force expect to incur for major football finals in 200203. A similar grant of 300,000 was made to the South Wales Police in 200102.

Police Occupational Health Service

Harold Best: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to develop an occupational health service for the police.

John Denham: An occupational health strategy for the police service has been developed as part of the police reform programme and it is currently subject to consultation with the staff associations and other representative bodies. The strategy will aim to reduce sickness absence rates and ill health retirements through improved sickness management and occupational health services.
	The Home Office will be spending 4 million during 200203 to assist forces in improving the quality of their occupational health provision.

Police Training

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what investigations he makes into the background of people coming to the UK on official and reciprocal police training programmes in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

John Denham: All visitors to the United Kingdom are subject to immigration checks. No special investigations are made into the background of overseas students accepted on to UK national police training programmes. Such students are normally sponsored either by the UK Government or by the government of the student's country. There are also security checks that apply to overseas visitors being given access to official premises, including police training colleges.

Police Probationers

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of police officers in (a) each basic command unit (b) each police force and (c) England are probationers; and what restrictions apply to their activities.

John Denham: Information on the number of probationer constables is collected annually by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary. The latest available is for 31 March 2001. The information is only collected at force level not for Basic Command Units. The table sets out the number of probationers and the proportion of strength for each force.
	After attestation, within the first week of joining, a probationer constable has the same routine powers as any other police officer. However, a probationer constable would not be required to go on unsupervised patrol until certified fit for such a duty. This certification occurs as part of the formal training process after about 28 weeks of training.
	
		Probationers in England as at 31 March 2001
		
			  Force  Probationers per cent Probationers of strength at 31 March 2001 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset 134.0 4.5 
			 Bedfordshire 108.0 10.4 
			 Cambridgeshire 143.0 11.0 
			 Cheshire 117.0 5.8 
			 City of London 29.0 4.1 
			 Cleveland 123.0 8.6 
			 Cumbria 47.0 4.5 
			 Derbyshire 171.0 9.4 
			 Devon and Cornwall 231.0 7.9 
			 Dorset 137.0 10.1 
			 Durham 120.0 7.5 
			 Essex 242.0 8.4 
			 Gloucestershire 140.0 12.0 
			 Greater Manchester 224.0 3.2 
			 Hampshire 290.0 8.4 
			 Hertfordshire 229.0 11.9 
			 Humberside 139.0 7.3 
			 Kent 119.0 3.6 
			 Lancashire 257.0 7.9 
			 Leicestershire 187.0 9.2 
			 Lincolnshire 139.0 11.6 
			 Merseyside 206.0 5.0 
			 Metropolitan Police 1,966.0 7.9 
			 Norfolk 115.0 8.1 
			 Northamptonshire 91.0 7.9 
			 Northumbria 303.0 7.9 
			 North Yorkshire 73.0 5.6 
			 Nottinghamshire 170.0 7.5 
			 South Yorkshire 165.0 5.2 
			 Staffordshire 80.0 3.8 
			 Suffolk 72.0 6.4 
			 Surrey 399.0 19.3 
			 Sussex 224.0 7.8 
			 Thames Valley 397.0 10.7 
			 Warwickshire 85.0 9.2 
			 West Mercia 78.0 4.0 
			 West Midlands 766.0 10.3 
			 West Yorkshire 262.0 5.4 
			 Wiltshire 80.0 7.1 
			 England 8,858.0 7.6

Retail Crime

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many cases of violent assault there were against (a) rail workers, (b) benefits agency staff and (c) retail staff in the last 12 months for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many incidents of (a) shop lifting, (b) armed robbery and (c) assault there have been in high streets shops in the past 12 months;
	(3)  how many instances of violence to retail staff there were in the last 12 months for which figures are available;
	(4)  what percentage of violent crime was against shop staff in the last year for which figures are available;
	(5)  how many instances of retail crime there were in each of the metropolitan boroughs in the last 12 months for which figures are available;
	(6)  how many incidents of recorded crime in the last three years have been classed as retail crime, broken down by police force.

John Denham: Recorded crime statistics do not normally identify the location of offences, or the occupation of victims. The one recorded crime which can be identified as retail crime is theft from a shop, and figures for each police force area for the last three years are given in the table.
	Figures on the location of firearms robberies including offences where air weapons, imitation weapons and unidentified firearms were used indicate that there were 1,323 robberies in shops in the 200001 financial year. Including offences where air weapons, Imitation Weapons and Unidentified fire arms where used.
	The Home Office, together with the Department of Trade and Industry and Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, will shortly be undertaking a major cross-Government survey of crime that affects retail and manufacturing premises across England and Wales. This study is receiving matching funds from the Treasury Evidence Based Policy Fund and will be the first Home Office survey of crime against manufacturers and retailers in England and Wales since 1994. More than 3,000 premises will be surveyed in each of these sectors. The survey will collect detailed information on the circumstances of crime against business, levels of concern about crime, the overall social and economic impact of crime on businesses and levels of satisfaction with police response and advice on crime.
	
		Recorded crime: between 199899 to 200001 in England and Wales. Theft from shopsnumber of offences
		
			 Police Force Area 199899 19992000 200001 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset 7632 7958 8741 
			 Bedfordshire 2934 3007 3105 
			 Cambridgeshire 3372 3630 3743 
			 Cheshire 4957 4883 4906 
			 Cleveland 5913 6365 6228 
			 Cumbria 2702 2584 2339 
			 Derbyshire 3473 4316 4537 
			 Devon and Cornwall 7007 6346 6414 
			 Dorset 2995 3088 3011 
			 Durham 2351 2944 3042 
			 Essex (1) 6818 7116 6788 
			 Gloucestershire 3285 3471 3697 
			 Greater Manchester 16016 16308 16196 
			 Hampshire 9874 10234 9674 
			 Hertfordshire (1) 3054 3328 4060 
			 Humberside 7638 7188 7487 
			 Kent 8010 8059 8191 
			 Lancashire 6922 6680 7123 
			 Leicestershire 4381 4398 4184 
			 Lincolnshire 2644 2709 2948 
			 London, City of 580 619 650 
			 Merseyside 8806 8777 9584 
			 Metropolitan Police (1) 47074 48015 41713 
			 Norfolk 3653 3480 3801 
			 Northamptonshire 3637 3348 3107 
			 Northumbria 9691 9719 10757 
			 North Yorkshire 3597 4053 3949 
			 Nottinghamshire 7857 8533 9226 
			 South Yorkshire 7090 7202 7525 
			 Staffordshire 5154 5981 6287 
			 Suffolk 3092 3118 3404 
			 Surrey (1) 2724 2957 3602 
			 Sussex 7975 8115 7788 
			 Thames Valley 8589 9628 10796 
			 Warwickshire 2045 1976 2100 
			 West Mercia 4818 5732 5792 
			 West Midlands 15824 17891 18877 
			 West Yorkshire 11806 11864 11317 
			 Wiltshire 2718 2623 2509 
			 Dyfed-Powys 1473 1656 1503 
			 Gwent 3152 3213 2909 
			 North Wales 2606 2708 2890 
			 South Wales 6033 6674 6580 
			 Totals: 281972 292494 293080 
		
	
	(1) There was a boundary change on 1 April 2000 in which some parts of the Metropolitan police area were transferred to Essex, Hertfordshire and Surrey, so that the police force areas followed county boundaries thereafter. The figures for these forces before and after this date are therefore not directly comparable.

Review Committee (Anti-Terrorism Legislation)

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the terms of reference are for the Review Committee of Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001; to whom it reports; what its annual budget and proposed staff are in its first year; what its sphere of competence is; what immunities its members enjoy; and what powers the body has (a) to compel witnesses, (b) to seize documents, (c) to demand disclosure, (d) to initiate its own inquiries, (e) to publish its reports and address the media by other means, (f) to create its own sub-committees and (g) to consider complaints by individuals and groups.

David Blunkett: Section 122 of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 sets out the Parliamentary requirement for a Committee to undertake a review of the Act. The Committee will report to me when they have completed their work. The Act requires them to deliver this by 14 December 2003.
	There are no powers for the Committee to compel individuals or organisations to provide information. But the Government would expect and encourage those individuals and organisations who are approached to co-operate fully with any request made to them by the Committee. All questions of procedure and staffing are for the Committee themselves to decide. While no specific budget has been set, the necessary funds will be made available to the Committee to enable them to do their work.

Reparation and Action Plan Orders

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) reparation orders and (b) action plan orders have been made to date in each police force area in England and Wales; how many have been (i) discharged and (ii) breached; and if he will make a statement.

John Denham: The information available, for 1998 to 2000, is contained in the table.
	Statistics for 2001 will be published in the autumn.
	
		Offenders given a reparation or action plan order and those breaching an order, by police force area, 1998 to 2000 -- England and Wales
		
			  Reparation orders  Action plan orders 
			 Police Force Pilot areas  30 Sep 199830 June 2000(30) All areas  1 June 200031 Dec 2000(30) Pilot areas  30 Sep 199830 June 2000(30) All areas  1 June 200031 Dec 2000 (30) 
			  Made Breached (31),(32) Dis- charged Made Breached (32) Dis- charged Made Breached (31),(32) Dis- charged Made Breached (32) Dis- charged 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset * * * 15  .. * * * 87  .. 
			 Bedfordshire * * * 16  .. * * * 32  .. 
			 Cambridgeshire * * * 45  .. * * * 60 1 .. 
			 Cheshire * * * 16  .. * * * 20 2 .. 
			 Cleveland * * * 18  .. * * * 55  .. 
			 Cumbria * * * 6  .. * * * 36 2 .. 
			 Derbyshire * * * 41 2 .. * * * 53 4 .. 
			 Devon and Comwall * * * 55  .. * * * 1  .. 
			 Dorset * * * 36  .. * * * 13  .. 
			 Durham * * * 38  .. * * * 87 1 .. 
			 Essex * * * 93  .. * * * 92 2 .. 
			 Gloucestershire * * * 44  .. * * * 13  .. 
			 Greater Manchester * * * 337 3 .. * * * 367 7 .. 
			 Hampshire 822 25 1 298  .. 550 34 8 233 4 .. 
			 Hertfordshire * * * 60  .. * * * 82  .. 
			 Humberside * * * 40 1 .. * * * 39 1 .. 
			 Kent * * * 77  .. * * * 55 1 .. 
			 Lancashire(33) 38 1  168 3 .. * * * 220 2 .. 
			 Leicestershire * * * 54  .. * * * 82 2 .. 
			 Lincolnshire * * * 51  .. * * * 42  .. 
			 London, City of * * *   .. * * *   .. 
			 Merseyside * * * 63  .. * * * 124  .. 
			 Metropolitan Police 83 8 4 302 8 .. 144 25 14 585 24 .. 
			 Norfolk * * * 7  .. * * * 30 1 .. 
			 Northamptonshire * * *   .. * * * 3  .. 
			 Northumbria * * * 70  .. * * * 108  .. 
			 North Yorkshire * * * 50  .. * * * 36 2 .. 
			 Nottinghamshire * * * 226 7 .. * * * 206 23 .. 
			 South Yorkshire 296 20  167 4 .. 110   99 10 .. 
			 Staffordshire(32) * * * .. .. .. * * * .. .. .. 
			 Suffolk * * * 9  .. * * * 15  .. 
			 Surrey * * * 110  .. * * * 52  .. 
			 Sussex * * * 66  .. * * * 59  .. 
			 Thames Valley * * * 92 3 .. * * * 162 5 .. 
			 Warwickshire * * * 36  .. * * * 40 2 .. 
			 West Mercia * * * 35  .. * * * 96  .. 
			 West Midlands 192 3  376 4 .. 171 9  387 9 .. 
			 West Yorkshire * * * 211 2 .. * * * 158 4 .. 
			 Wiltshire * * * 31  .. * * * 14  .. 
			 Dyfed-Powys * * *   .. * * * 2  .. 
			 Gwent * * * 56  .. * * * 18  .. 
			 North Wales * * * 52  .. * * * 66  .. 
			 South Wales * * * 107  .. * * * 92  .. 
			 Total England and Wales 1,431 57 5 3,574 37 .. 975 68 22 4,021 109 .. 
		
	
	* not applicable.. not available
	(30) Persons given reparation orders or action plan orders in June 2000 are included in the pilot area figures as well as the national figures.
	(31) Details of breaches or discharges not available for the period April to June 2000.
	(32) A person is counted once for each separate court appearance on which he/she is found guilty of a breach.
	(33) Lancashire pilot area data not available for the period April to June 2000.

Dangerous Driving

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to introduce a vehicle homicide charge, with sentence, for those who cause death by dangerous driving whilst having no insurance, MOT or driving licence and are consistently driving offenders; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: The current offence of gross negligence manslaughter, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, is appropriate where the driving in question falls so far below the required standard that it amounts to criminal negligence and applies irrespective of the drivers insurance, MOT or licence status. The law of manslaughter is currently under review. Our current proposals for reforming the law are detailed in the consultation paper Reforming the law on Involuntary Manslaughter: the Government's Proposals (a copy of which is available in the Library). The proposals do not include the introduction of a specific vehicular manslaughter offence.
	If the offender's driving falls far below the required standard but not so far as to support gross negligence manslaughter, the appropriate charge could be causing death by dangerous driving. The maximum penalty available for this offence is currently 10 years' imprisonment. This penalty is under consideration as part of the Government's Review Of Road Traffic Penalties.
	As part of the sentencing framework reform, building on the recommendations of the report Making Punishments Work published in July 2001, we are looking at ensuring that those who commit offences of violence that carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, such as motor manslaughter, will receive that sentence if the court takes the view that they present significant risks of further serious harm to the public.

Racially Motivated Crimes

Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the incidence of racially motivated crimes (a) per 1,000 population and (b) in total were in each police authority area in Wales and England in each year since 1997.

John Denham: The information requested is given in the attached table. Information on the number of racist incidents for all police force areas is published annually in the Home Office publication under Section 95 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991, Statistics on Race and the Criminal Justice system. Comparisons between the number of racist incidents and resident population may be misleading since this does not adequately describe those people likely to be at risk of being the victim of a racist incident in an area.
	
		Racist incidents for all police force areas 199697 to 19992000
		
			 Police Force Area 199697 Total 199697 Per 1000 Population 199798 Total 199798 Per 1000 Population 199899 Total 199899 Per 1000 Population 19992000 Total 19992000 Per 1000 Population 
		
		
			 Avon  Somerset 310 0.23 409 0.31 626 0.47 887 0.67 
			 Bedfordshire 77 0.16 75 0.15 134 0.28 300 0.62 
			 Cambridgeshire 141 0.22 147 0.23 205 0.32 519 0.82 
			 Cheshire 92 0.11 78 0.09 158 0.18 421 0.49 
			 Cleveland 68 0.14 76 0.16 147 0.30 204 0.42 
			 Cumbria 37 0.09 46 0.11 45 0.10 85 0.20 
			 Derbyshire 208 0.24 174 0.20 208 0.24 383 0.45 
			 Devon  Cornwall 82 0.06 90 0.06 116 0.08 538 0.39 
			 Dorset 67 0.11 86 0.14 145 0.23 185 0.30 
			 Durham 24 0.04 37 0.07 75 0.14 178 0.33 
			 Essex 116 0.09 160 0.12 229 0.17 431 0.32 
			 Gloucestershire 34 0.07 32 0.06 83 0.17 258 0.52 
			 Greater Manchester 595 0.27 624 0.28 1197 0.54 2,324 1.04 
			 Hampshire 178 0.11 219 0.14 271 0.17 654 0.42 
			 Hertfordshire 295 0.38 288 0.37 325 0.42 703 0.91 
			 Humberside 55 0.07 72 0.09 111 0.14 215 0.28 
			 Kent 256 0.18 276 0.20 273 0.20 914 0.66 
			 Lancashire 337 0.27 311 0.25 450 0.36 917 0.74 
			 Leicestershire 299 0.37 237 0.29 367 0.45 878 1.08 
			 Lincolnshire 7 0.01 6 0.01 14 0.03 19 0.03 
			 London, City of 10 1.85 6 1.11 28 5.19 55 10.19 
			 Merseyside 162 0.13 241 0.20 324 0.26 822 0.67 
			 Metropolitan Police 5,621 0.83 5,862 0.87 11,050 1.64 23,346 3.46 
			 Norfolk 56 0.08 89 0.13 94 0.13 253 0.36 
			 Northamptonshire 195 0.30 318 0.48 282 0.43 597 0.90 
			 Northumbria 488 0.91 444 0.82 623 1.16 1159 2.15 
			 North Yorkshire 43 0.03 41 0.03 64 0.05 96 0.08 
			 Nottinghamshire 330 0.36 391 0.43 475 0.52 714 0.79 
			 South Yorkshire 169 0.15 213 0.19 293 0.26 557 0.49 
			 Staffordshire 225 0.24 214 0.23 220 0.24 404 0.43 
			 Suffolk 74 0.13 54 0.09 150 0.25 234 0.40 
			 Surrey 55 0.08 45 0.06 126 0.18 338 0.48 
			 Sussex 260 0.19 298 0.22 399 0.30 934 0.70 
			 Thames Valley 233 0.13 279 0.15 486 0.26 999 0.54 
			 Warwickshire 66 0.15 107 0.24 111 0.25 150 0.34 
			 West Mercia 64 0.06 57 0.06 83 0.08 464 0.46 
			 West Midlands 725 0.32 632 0.28 988 0.44 1,548 0.68 
			 West Yorkshire 623 0.34 644 0.35 1068 0.58 2,118 1.15 
			 Wiltshire 35 0.07 59 0.11 101 0.19 221 0.42 
			 Dyfed-Powys 18 0.04 17 0.04 37 0.09 99 0.23 
			 Gwent 60 0.12 45 0.09 98 0.20 213 0.44 
			 North Wales 4 0.01 12 0.02 36 0.06 80 0.14 
			 South Wales 357 0.33 367 0.34 734 0.68 1,602 1.47 
			 England  Wales 13,151 0.29 13,878 0.30 23,049 0.50 48,016 1.04

Shoplifting

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of shoplifting there were in Lancashire in each year since 1997.

John Denham: The number of crimes of theft from a shop is recorded by the police in Lancashire since 1997 are given in table.
	
		Recorded thefts from a shop in Lancashire
		
			 Year Number of offences 
		
		
			 1997(34) 7,434 
			 199899(35) 6,922 
			 19992002(35) 6,680 
			 200001(35) 7,123 
		
	
	(34) Calendar year
	(35) Year ending March
	There was a change in counting rules for recorded crime on 1 April 1998. Numbers of recorded crimes before and after this date may not be directly comparable. The 200001 figure for Lancashire may have been affected by new recording practices introduced by the force in April 2000.

Police Radio System

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the compatibility of the radio system used by police officers in Lancashire with the one used by the Greater Manchester police force; and what plans he has to improve the systems.

John Denham: As the Air wave service is rolled out across the United Kingdom, its features will be enhanced by a series of software upgrades. In mid 2003, a software upgrade will provide the potential for full national compatibility.
	In Lancashire Constabulary and Greater Manchester Police, an interim arrangement has been put in place. Where appropriate, their radios are being programmed to enable officers to communicate with either force control room. The situation will be further eased by a software upgrade which will take place in September, 2002.

Football Violence

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what discussions have taken place following the acts of violence committed by Millwall supporters following the club's Division One play-off match against Birmingham;
	(2)  what further plans he has to combat football hooliganism;
	(3)  what recent discussions have taken place between the Government, football authorities and clubs to help eradicate hooliganism.

John Denham: Government, police and football authorities have worked closely together to make our football stadia among the safest and most secure in the world and to marginalise hooliganism. It has never been claimed that the phenomenon has been eradicated and it is evident that certain clubs continue to attract a disproportionate number of potential troublemakers. Tough legislation is in place for dealing with miscreants and, prior to next season, Government will be hosting discussions with key policing and football agencies to identify what further action is required.

Asylum Accommodation Centres

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what minimum accommodation and other requirements he sets for each asylum accommodation centre;
	(2)  what criteria he set for locating asylum accommodation centres.

Angela Eagle: The criteria for site selection included; sites with the capacity to cater for several hundred residents plus facilities either as new-build or conversion, a non-urban location and a reasonable geographical spread beyond London and Kent. We are seeking to build around four centres of 750 people each to a total capacity of 3,000, although one of the centres may be smaller during the trial period.

Deportation Orders

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many deportation orders have been made against Irish nationals in each full year since 1996.

Angela Eagle: The latest available information relates to the period 1996 to 2000 and is given in the table.
	
		Deportation orders made against Irish nationals, 1996 to 2000(36)
		
			  
		
		
			 1996 5 
			 1997 10 
			 1998 15 
			 1999 5 
			 2000p 5 
		
	
	(36)Figures rounded to the nearest five.
	pProvisional data.

Anti-Personnel Landmines

Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action is being taken in respect of the British company alleged to be selling illegal anti-personnel landmines at the Arms Trade Fair in Docklands; and if he will make a statement.

John Denham: I understand that Derbyshire Constabulary are making extensive enquiries to assess whether or not the allegations made can be substantiated; and that Her Majesty's Customs and Excise and the Health and Safety Executive are also seeking to establish whether there have been breaches of the legislation for which they are responsible.

Anti-Personnel Landmines

Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures his Department is taking to stop the illegal manufacture of anti-personnel landmines in the UK.

John Denham: This would be a matter for the police force for the area concerned, in conjunction as appropriate with the Department of Trade and Industry and Her Majesty's Customs and Excise.

Christopher Stephen-Martin

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the application of Metropolitan Police Conditions of Service (a) Chapter 4.3,2 and (b) Chapter 4.3 annex C, subsections 1, 8, 9, and 13, to the disciplinary proceedings against Christopher Stephen-Martin.

John Denham: The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis informs me that there are no disciplinary proceedings against Mr. Stephen-Martin at present. Also as an investigation into the allegations which have been made and to which this question relates is ongoing it would be inappropriate to comment upon the conduct of any possible disciplinary proceedings at this time.

CS Gas

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many CS gas cannisters are known to be missing from Metropolitan Police stocks; and if he will make a statement.

John Denham: The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis informs me that 50 CS spray canisters are known to be missing from Metropolitan Police stocks. All losses of CS canisters are carefully investigated.

Yaba

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the level of use of the drug yaba in the UK.

Mr. Ainsworth: Those Home Office surveys that ask questions about drug use do not inquire about the consumption of the drug Methylamphetamine (or yaba). No estimate can therefore be provided on the level of use of this drug.

Yaba

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what evidence he has collated on whether the UK is being targeted by producers of the drug yaba from Far East Asia.

Mr. Ainsworth: Methylamphetamine (or yaba) is controlled as a Class B drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. It is known to be produced in the United States, Europe and East Asia. We understand from the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) that there is no evidence to suggest that the United Kingdom (UK) is being specifically or significantly targeted by producers in East Asia although small quantities of crystal methylamphetamine has been intercepted from the Philippines. It is believed that most UK seizures are produced within Europe.

Greater Manchester Police

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 14 May 2002, ref. 41412, what his reasons were for funding that proportion of the additional costs for Greater Manchester Police as a result of the Commonwealth Games.

John Denham: holding answer 20 May 2002
	We took into account the force information supporting the Manchester case, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary's recommendations and the financial circumstances of the Police Authority. Payment up to 5 million also takes account of the costs of the extra security element in the bid post 11 September.
	Funds for special grant are limited and the conditions for consideration of special grant are known to the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Association of Police Authorities. Local Police Authorities must expect to make some contribution towards additional policing costs.

Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act

Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Lewes (Norman Baker) of 6 November 2001, Official Report, column 175W, on the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, what progress has been made with the Government's review of section 24 of the Act; when he will announce his conclusions; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Eagle: Section 24 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 creates a criminal offence for the unauthorised disclosure of confidential information relating to the use of animals in scientific procedures by Home Office Ministers and officials, members of the Animal Procedures Committee and others appointed for specific purposes under the Act, other than for the purposes of carrying out functions under the Act. The maximum punishment is two years imprisonment. Following the enactment of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, all statutory bars to the disclosure of information are being reviewed, including section 24 of the 1986 Act.
	For some time now the Government has taken the position that greater openness and transparency regarding the regulation and use of animals in scientific procedures is desirable, providing it does not jeopardise the safety of individual scientists and their establishments or their legitimate commercial and intellectual interests. I am continuing my consideration of how these commitments can best be met. I hope to make a decision on whether to repeal or amend section 24 by the summer.

Work-related Illness

Michael Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many employees in the (a) police force, (b) fire service and (c) prison service retired through work-related injury or ill-health in the last year for which records are available; and what the total cost to the Department was.

John Denham: holding answer 20 May 2002
	There were 1,209 ill health retirements from the police service in 200001. I understand from the Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions that there were 238 retirements due to work-related ill health from the fire service in 200001. This excludes Bedfordshire and Luton, and West Sussex brigades, for which data were not available. There were 221 ill-health retirements from the prison service in 200102.
	Separate figures are not kept centrally for ill health retirements from the police and prison service which are specifically work-related. In none of the three services is information held centrally as to costs in the form requested. However, the cost in civil service pensions of the ill-health retirements from the prison service in 200102 was 4,196,348.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders have been issued 
	(1)  in Lancashire in each year since their inception;
	(2)  been issued in Wales in each year since their inception.

John Denham: Official statistics on the number of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBO) issued are based on quarterly returns received from Magistrates' Courts Committees (MCCs). Latest available information is given in the table.
	
		Number of anti-social behaviour orders(37) issued within Lancashire and Wales from 1 April 1999 to 31 December 2001
		
			 Area/MCC Period   
			  1 Apr 99 31 Dec 00(38) 1 Jan 01 31 Dec 01 Total 
		
		
			 Lancashire 10 7 17 
			 Wales 2 5 7 
			 Dyfed Powys 0 0 0 
			 Gwent 0 2 2 
			 North Wales 1 0 1 
			 South Wales 1 3 4 
		
	
	(37) Introduced under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 on 1 April 1999.
	(38) From 1 April 1999 to 31 May 2000 information collected on the total number of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders issued by police force area only.
	The requirement for further checks for completeness of information reported from MCCs is currently under review.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of antisocial behaviour orders; and if he will make a statement.

John Denham: holding answer 21 May 2002
	The Home Office review of anti-social behaviour orders was published on 2 April 2002. This review found that ASBOs are being used successfully to reduce anti-social behaviour and increased public confidence in the partner agencies. The review also found that the use of ASBOs was not consistent between areas and the Government is taking a range of steps in the Police Reform Bill to make anti-social behaviour orders more effective. They include:
	an interim order which will protect the community at the start of the court process.
	allowing ASBOs to cover a wider geographical area which will remove the need for repeat applications.
	allowing ASBOs to be made in county courts and on conviction in criminal courts and thereby reducing the number of times witnesses need to appear and avoiding the need for a separate court process.
	When these measures come into force we will produce clear and practical guidance on the legislation and on obtaining ASBOs, including relevant case studies.

Crime Statistics

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidences of (a) theft from vehicles, (b) armed robbery, (c) criminal damage, (d) common assault, (e) vehicle theft and (f) vandalism have been reported in each police area in Wales in each year since 1997.

John Denham: The number of recorded crimes in each of these categories is given in the table, copies of which have been placed in the Library. Vandalism is included in the figures for criminal damage.
	There was a change in counting rules for recorded crime on 1 April 1998. Numbers of recorded crimes before and after this date may not be directly comparable.
	It should be noted that recorded violent crime is subject to changes in reporting and recording. For example, the 2001 British Crime Survey found that, over England and Wales as a whole, reporting to the police of common assault rose from 29 per cent in 1999 to 39 per cent in the year 2000. Also, the British Crime Survey has shown that, in England and Wales as a whole, the number of common assaults recorded in the survey decreased by 14 per cent between the 1999 and 2000 calendar years, whereas common assaults recorded by the police increased by an estimated nine per cent. Common assaults recorded by the police may therefore not necessarily be a reflection of the real level of this offence.

Crime Statistics

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his estimate is of the annual change in the major categories of criminal offences in (a) England, (b) each English Police Authority in each year since 198586; and if he will make a statement.

John Denham: holding answer 21 May 2002
	Annual changes in the major categories of recorded crimes have been published in table 2.7 of successive editions of Criminal Statistics England and Wales, which are available in the Library. This is with the exception of the year ending 199899, for which no estimate could be made owing to the change of counting rules for recorded crime which came into effect on 1 April 1998.

World Cup

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations are being made to other European Governments to ensure hooligans from other countries are stopped from travelling to the World Cup.

John Denham: There is close liaison with the governments and police of European countries competing in the World Cup. England will have around 8,000 supporters in Japan for the first phase of the tournament, but other European countries will have much lower levels of support. Hooligans are not expected to feature among their number. It is for each country to determine whether the behaviour of its supporters warrants the introduction of measures to prevent hooligans from travelling to such tournaments. To date, only Germany has felt it necessary or appropriate to introduce measures comparable to those in place in England and Wales, though a number of European governments are currently reviewing their football-related legislation.

Demonstrations (Policing)

Doug Naysmith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 29 April 2002, Official Report, column 616W, if the guidance on policing of demonstrations issued to police forces by the Association of Chief Police Officers is in accordance with the report of the Metropolitan Police Directorate of Professional Standards arising out of last year's May Day demonstrations in London; and if he will make a statement.

John Denham: The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis informs me that the Director of Professional Standards has not compiled a report arising out of last year's May Day demonstrations in London. Following consultation with the Police Complaints Authority, criteria were established by the Metropolitan Police to determine those complaints made against police tactics during the protests which were to be treated as a direction and control issue, and considered by the Director of Professional Standards. In accordance with Section 67 (4) of the Police Act 1996 these are not recorded as complaints against police. Details of individual complaints are not published.

European Security

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his policy towards the Initiative of the Spanish Presidency on the setting up of a network of contact points of national authorities responsible for private security (2002/C42/09).

Mr. Ainsworth: There is currently some doubt as to whether this Initiative should properly be seen as a Third Pillar (Title VI TEU) measure or one designed to improve the operation of the European Single Market. The Spanish Presidency is at present redrafting the proposal to clarify these issues, and the Government will await sight of the new draft before forming an opinion.

Criminal Activity (Deprivation)

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the connection between criminal activity and indicators of deprivation.

John Denham: holding answer 21 May 2002
	Work by the Home Office suggests that while many deprived areas do also have high crime rates a significant number do not and some deprived areas have in fact very low crime rates. 66 of the 88 Neighbourhood Renewal Fund areas are also in the top 88 for combined crime rates but 22 (i.e. quarter) are not and of those 22, seven have combined crime rates that are significantly lower than the mean for England. The areas with high deprivation but low crime rates are typified by long-established communities on estates in rural or semi-urban areas.
	Conversely some local authorities with significant crime problems are not in the 88 most deprived areas. These are typically city centres or local commercial areas.
	Some preliminary analysis has also been carried out using the Multiple Deprivation Index and the British Crime Survey. This suggests that there is a correlation between criminal activity and deprivation. However, the correlation varies significantly between crimes. Neither area of research examines the extent, if any, of causal links between the criminal activity and indicators of deprivation.

Volunteering

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to promote volunteering by older people.

Angela Eagle: The Home Office is funding the Experience Corps Company, 19.9 million over three years; to promote and encourage people aged 50 + to volunteer. The company can be contacted on 020 7620 0009.

Sikhs

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the status of Sikhs within the Statutory Code of Practice on the Duty to Promote Race Equality.

Angela Eagle: holding answer 23 May 2002
	Sikhs have the same status as all other ethnic and racial groups within the draft Statutory Code of Practice on the Duty to Promote Race Equality currently before Parliament.
	Some Sikh organisations have argued that Sikhs should be monitored as a separate ethnic group rather than subsumed in one of the generic monitoring categories used in the 2001 Census. The fact that case law has established Sikhs as an ethnic group for the purposes of the Race Relations Act does not, of itself, justify different treatment from the many other ethnic and racial groups in the United Kingdom.
	The draft statutory Code of Practice encourages authorities to use the same ethnic classification system as used in the 2001 Census, or categories that match them very closely. However, the draft statutory Code also recognises that authorities may choose to collect more detailed information to reflect local circumstances. Public authorities with significant Sikh populations in their area may opt to do this. Helpfully, demographic information about British Sikhs will be available for the first time from the results of the religious identity question in the 2001 Census due to be published next February.

European Police College

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on progress made towards the establishment of the European Police College.

John Denham: The European Police College has a work programme for 2002, which will deliver up to 6,000 days of training to senior police officers, with strong participation by the United Kingdom (UK). Priorities include non-military crisis management, anti-terrorism, trafficking in human beings and border control. The first phases of the European Police Knowledge Net have now been implemented. In the absence of a decision by the Council on a permanent seat of the Secretariat of CEPOL, the Governing Board has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Danish National Commissioner of Police to locate temporarily the Secretariat in Copenhagen on the understanding that Denmark is not applying for the permanent seat. The UK continues to press for an early decision, and is still promoting its bid for Bramshill to host the Secretariat on a permanent basis. The post of Administrative Director has been filled on a temporary basis, until the permanent seat is decided, and the process of recruiting the Secretariat staff should commence shortly.

European Police College

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his policy towards the establishment of a European Institute of Police Studies (2002/C42/10); what the relationship is with the European Police College; what account he has taken of Recital 6 on expanding the role of the Institute; what plans exist to centralise the Institute after the initial period is complete; who will constitute the UK delegation to the governing board; for what reason external observers will attend; what manner of expert will attend board meetings; what manner of research activities will be excluded as ultra vires research; and for what reason socioeconomics and political processes will be included as areas of interest.

John Denham: The Presidency proposal to establish a European Institute of Police Studies has been discussed in the Police Cooperation Working Group. In common with a number of other Member States, the United Kingdom has expressed its concern that the proposal, rather than helping to co-ordinate activity across existing European Union institutions, would actually overlap the activity of those institutions, most particularly the European Police College (CEPOL). The Presidency has now remitted the proposal to the CEPOL Governing Board asking how CEPOL could take forward the proposals. The matter is due to be discussed by the CEPOL Governing Board at its next meeting, at the end of May 2002.

Eurojust Officials

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the status of Eurojust officials with respect to immunities.

Bob Ainsworth: The status of national members of Eurojust is a matter for individual Member States and the United Kingdom member has diplomatic immunity. Under Article 30 of the Council Decision of 28 February 2002 establishing Eurojust, Eurojust staff have the same status as officials and other servants of the European Communities. This confers immunity from legal proceedings in respect of acts performed by them in their official capacity.

Drug Trafficking

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on planned expenditure in the UK under budget line B5-831, combating drug trafficking; and what role Europol will play therein.

Bob Ainsworth: There are currently no existing or planned bids from United Kingdom authorities in respect of budget line B5-831, combating drug trafficking.

Europol

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the granting of immunities to Europol employees under 2002/C42/07, OJ C42 of 15 February.

Bob Ainsworth: The Protocol under cover of the draft Council Act 2002/C42/07, OJ C42 of 15 February 2002 provides that Europol officials may participate in a support capacity in joint investigation teams (although they may not assist in any coercive measures related to arrest or detention).
	It also provides that Europol officials shall not be granted immunities in relation to official acts undertaken while participating in joint investigation teams. Such officials would be treated as officials of the Member State of operation with respect to offences committed against them or by them. Europol would also be liable for any damage caused by them in accordance with the law of that Member State.
	The Government fully supports these proposals.

Special Constables

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many special constables were serving in (a) England and (b) each Police Authority in each year since 198081.

John Denham: holding answer 21 May 2002
	Statistics are given in the table. There is no reliable data before 1990. From 1990 to 1995, statistics on the strength of the special constabulary in England and Wales were collected by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary. These were compiled at the end of the calendar year until 1993, and then for the financial year 199495. Since 1995, these statistics have been collected by the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate. They are compiled at the end of March and September each year.
	
		
			 Date No. 
		
		
			 December 1990 15,075 
			 December 1991 17,543 
			 December 1992 19,035 
			 December 1993 20,573 
			 March 1995 20,026 
			 September 1995 19,655 
			 September 1996 19,451 
			 September 1997 19,163 
			 September 1998 17,296 
			 September 1999 15,727 
			 September 2000 13,487 
			 September 2001 12,068 
		
	
	Figures to March 1995 supplied by HMIC, figures from September 1995 supplied by Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate. Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary.
	The government is committed to reversing this decline in numbers and achieving a stronger, increasingly professional special constabulary. Measures to achieve this include: A new headline role focusing on intelligence led patrolling and crime reduction initiatives; a new national foundation training package for special constables; joint Home Office/The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) good practice guidance covering recruitment, management and deployment of specials; new conditions of service and conduct regulations.
	In January 2002 we ran a press campaign targeting Specials as part of the national recruitment campaign for the regular Police Service. And as my right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary (Mr. Blunkett) also announced at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) last week, we will also be working with employers to encourage them to support employees who are specialsin particular by giving them extra paid leave to carry out their police duties

Special Constables

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his estimate is of the average hours worked by special constables in England for the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

John Denham: holding answer 21 May 2002
	Data on the average number of hours worked by special constables is not available.
	The government is committed to achieving a stronger, increasingly professional special constabulary. Measures to achieve this would include: A new headline role focusing on intelligence led patrolling and crime reduction initiatives; a new national foundation training package for special constables; joint Home Office/The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) good practice guidance covering recruitment, management and deployment of specials; new conditions of service and conduct regulations and better management information.
	In January 2002 we ran a press campaign targeting Specials as part of the national recruitment campaign for the regular Police Service. And as my right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary (Mr. Blunkett) also announced at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) last week, we will also be working with employers to encourage them to support employees who are specialsin particular by giving them extra paid leave to carry out their police duties.

Speed Limits

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to make 20 mph speed limits enforceable by the police with fixed penalty notices; and if he will make a statement.

John Denham: holding answer 21 May 2002
	20 mph speed limits are already enforceable by the police with fixed penalty notices.
	The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) issued publicly available guidelines on speed enforcement in February 2000. These suggest that normally a fixed penalty notice should be issued when, in a 20 mph zone, a driver's speed reaches 25 mph. The police will however, use their discretion to take account of the particular circumstances of any individual speeding offence.
	20 mph speed limit zones are normally engineered by the use of road humps, chicanes, etc. to be predominantly self-enforcing.

Police Numbers

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of police officers in Avon and Somerset have been on long-term sick leave in each year since 198586.

John Denham: holding answer 21 May 2002
	The information requested is only available from 199697. This is shown in the table. The number of officers on long-term sick leave is as recorded at 31 March for each year. Long-term sick leave is defined as continuous sickness absence of 28 days or more.
	
		
			 Year Police Officers on Long-term Sick Leave Average Number of  Police  Officers Proportion of Police Officers on Long-term  Sick Leave  (per cent) 
		
		
			 199697 285 3,001 9.5 
			 199798 342 2,976 11.5 
			 199899 59 3,012 2.0 
			 19992002 53 2,992 1.8 
			 20000 86 2,992 2.9

Police Numbers

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers there have been (a) in England and (b) in each police authority in each year since 198081.

John Denham: holding answer 21 May 2002
	Police strength figures for each force for each year between 1980 and 1993 are published in the appendix to the Annual Reports of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary, copies of which are in the Library.
	Table A sets out police strength between March 1981 and September 2001 in England. Table B sets out police strength for each force for each year between March 1994 and September 2001. TABLE A
	
		Police NumbersEngland 198081 to 200102
		
			 Year (as at 31 March) Number of Police Officers 
		
		
			 198081 110,282 
			 198182 112,197 
			 198283 113,219 
			 198384 113,299 
			 198485 112,402 
			 198586 113,052 
			 198687 114,130 
			 198788 115,947 
			 198889 117,024 
			 198990 118,759 
			 199091 119,033 
			 199192 119,099 
			 199293 119,621 
			 199394 119,365 
			 199495 118,827 
			 199596 118,405 
			 199697 118,459 
			 199798 118,091 
			 199899 117,195 
			 19992000 115,324 
			 200001 116,440 
			 200102 (30 September 2001) 117,835 
		
	
	
		TABLE B -- Police Officer Strength in England (full-time equivalents and excluding secondments)
		
			 Police Force March 1994 March 1995 March 1996 March 1997 March 1998 March 1999 March 2000 March 2001 Sept. 2001 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset 3,033 3,000 2,981 2,989 2,976 2,999 2,934 2,994 3,040 
			 Bedfordshire 1,151 1,126 1,128 1,094 1,079 1,041 1,028 1,036 1,050 
			 Cambridgeshire 1,263 1,261 1,238 1,302 1,291 1,274 1,237 1,296 1,350 
			 Cheshire 1,902 1,932 1,998 2,046 2,042 2,071 2,011 2,002 2,021 
			 Cleveland 1,429 1,438 1,420 1,459 1,483 1,416 1,404 1,407 1,434 
			 Cumbria 1,174 1,167 1,115 1,144 1,164 1,126 1,084 1,048 1,075 
			 Derbyshire 1,820 1,797 1,763 1,791 1,772 1,759 1,777 1,823 1,851 
			 Devon and Cornwall 2,914 2,877 2,899 2,865 2,962 2,887 2,841 2,934 2,972 
			 Dorset 1,297 1,288 1,263 1,284 1,310 1,279 1,306 1,354 1,360 
			 Durham 1,383 1,353 1,401 1,461 1,515 1,568 1,558 1,595 1,600 
			 Essex* 2,937 2,921 2,884 2,961 2,928 2,891 2,806 2,897 2,937 
			 Gloucestershire 1,159 1,163 1,133 1,133 1,104 1,104 1,114 1,173 1,169 
			 Greater Manchester 6,967 7,037 6,938 6,922 6,949 6,810 6,795 6,909 7,036 
			 Hampshire 3,270 3,256 3,347 3,452 3,490 3,473 3,419 3,438 3,449 
			 Hertfordshire* 1,682 1,703 1,712 1,759 1,740 1,724 1,767 1,922 1,843 
			 Humberside 2,039 2,029 2,041 2,045 2,021 1,974 1,932 1,917 1,991 
			 Kent 3,145 3,117 3,120 3,260 3,251 3,201 3,204 3,319 3,367 
			 Lancashire 3,170 3,212 3,171 3,247 3,257 3,245 3,179 3,255 3,288 
			 Leicestershire 1,825 1,839 1,908 1,949 1,983 1,993 1,993 2,032 2,062 
			 Lincolnshire 1,205 1,199 1,145 1,196 1,191 1,140 1,115 1,202 1,184 
			 London, City of 893 885 869 859 825 778 732 703 699 
			 Merseyside 4,693 4,659 4,411 4,230 4,216 4,211 4,085 4,081 4,095 
			 Metropolitan Police* 27,699 27,480 27,343 26,677 26,094 26,073 25,485 24,878 25,374 
			 Norfolk 1,447 1,359 1,401 1,432 1,430 1,381 1,381 1,420 1,436 
			 North Yorkshire 1,318 1,300 1,324 1,338 1,367 1,337 1,283 1,305 1,390 
			 Northamptonshire 1,170 1,156 1,153 1,177 1,169 1,137 1,117 1,157 1,180 
			 Northumbria 3,598 3,606 3,668 3,677 3,769 3,840 3,788 3,857 3,893 
			 Nottinghamshire 2,328 2,319 2,318 2,323 2,323 2,225 2,204 2,275 2,273 
			 South Yorkshire 3,023 3,040 3,073 3,159 3,182 3,168 3,163 3,197 3,223 
			 Staffordshire 2,208 2,231 2,209 2,211 2,292 2,238 2,170 2,129 2,119 
			 Suffolk 1,208 1,191 1,138 1,180 1,186 1,190 1,145 1,133 1,146 
			 Surrey* 1,669 1,676 1,644 1,620 1,608 1,662 1,785 2,066 2,018 
			 Sussex 3,009 2,931 3,074 3,085 2,996 2,847 2,822 2,855 2,837 
			 Thames Valley 3,908 3,854 3,674 3,695 3,776 3,748 3,740 3,703 3,708 
			 Warwickshire 1,046 1,013 979 926 924 908 900 926 930 
			 West Mercia 2,059 2,046 2,017 2,040 2,010 2,025 1,887 1,951 1,994 
			 West Midlands 7,014 7,019 7,145 7,113 7,156 7,321 7,194 7,423 7,432 
			 West Yorkshire 5,046 5,050 5,142 5,209 5,155 4,982 4,822 4,815 4,859 
			 Wiltshire 1,264 1,261 1,218 1,154 1,156 1,151 1,118 1,120 1,152 
			 Total England 119,365 118,827 118,405 118,459 118,138 117,195 115,324 116,548 117,836 
		
	
	Notes:
	This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items.
	It does not include officers on secondment to NCS/NCIS and their predecessors or to any central service organisation. This is because it is not possible to differentiate between English and Welsh police officers on secondment from Home Office records.
	* These forces have been affected by the boundary changes which took place in April 2000.

Illegal Drugs

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what co-operation is in place between his Department and the police service in Jamaica to reduce the amount of illegal drugs being smuggled into the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: holding Answer 21 May 2002
	I had discussions with the Minister of National Security and the Commissioner of the Jamaica Constabulary Force during my visit to Jamaica in April 2002. There is already close co-operation between the Jamaica Constabulary Force and the law enforcement authorities in this country and work is in hand to make that co-operation more effective in reducing the volume of drugs being trafficked to the United Kingdom from Jamaica.
	My right hon. Friend, the Minister for the Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mr. Boateng) signed a memorandum of understanding with the Jamaican Government on 22 May. The memorandum provides a number of measures designed to stem the flow of cocaine into United Kingdom on flights from Jamaica.